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 Eureka, which is located at the northwest tip of Ellesmere Island, is one of seven Nunavut communities that experienced record warm temperatures over the Thanksgiving weekend. - photo courtesy of Arctic Weather Centre |
Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services
Seven hamlets across the territory were hit with record-breaking mild temperatures over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Several communities, such as Pond Inlet (6.6 C) and Alert (4.2 C), each broke records two days in row.
Meteorologists at the Arctic Weather Centre in Edmonton were shocked by the unusual weather patterns, and are even calling it a phenomenon.
"My first reaction was ... are you sure all that information is right?
"It's like the world is all upside down," exclaimed meteorologist Yvonne Bilan-Wallace.
And the situation gets even more interesting.
While most Nunavut residents were basking in warm weather coming from the east, the Northwest Territories was hit with biting Northern winds resulting in record low temperatures.
Hay River, for example, hit a low temperature of -9.5 C on Oct. 14, shattering a record of -8.9 C set way back in 1897.
"It's just luck of the draw I guess," laughed Bilan-Wallace.
Nunavummiut all across the territory are baffled.
"I don't know what's going on ... life is great," said Charlie Lyall of Taloyoak.
Kugluktuk is experiencing an extremely dry spell, communities in the Baffin region have been smothered in snow, it rained for two days straight in Gjoa Haven, and there's not a pan of ice to be seen in Pond Inlet.
"It was really cold and windy and then it got extremely mild, from one extreme to the other ... one day you could even go out in a T-shirt," said Ruby Watson of Pond Inlet.
"It's phenomenal. Everyone tells me we should have ice in the bay but we don't ... it's more like east coast weather here," she said.
In fact, a mother and daughter team from Quebec just sailed into Pond Inlet two weeks ago. They had been sailing the Northwest Passage, Watson said, and were shocked at the absence of ice along the way.
Gjoa Haven may have seen lots of rain over the Thanksgiving weekend, but George Porter, amateur meteorologist and elder, predicted lots of snow and gusting northern winds were near on Oct. 15.
"Right now we can see lots of really dark, black clouds in the east, so a blizzard is on the way," he said.
