Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (June 01/05) - Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow has become a chorus of the times for residents of Rankin Inlet.

The hamlet has been racking up the highest snowfall amounts ever recorded this year and the arrival of spring has done little to stem the tide.

The average annual snowfall (December to January) for Rankin is 119.7 cm.

This year (from September 2004 until May 24, 2005), Rankin has received 296.8 cm of snow.

Yvonne Bilan-Wallace is a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.

She says a number of snowfall records weren't just broken during the past two months, they were totally snowed under.

"People in Rankin must be wondering if they've been unknowingly teleported to a snowy Whistler ski resort," muses Wallace.

"The snow just kept coming, with close to seven times the normal amount of snowfall in April and more than three times the normal amounts in May."

The previous single-day record for snow in April was 14 cm, with the monthly average being 13.6 cm.

This year, Rankin received 26.4 cm on April 28 alone.

In addition, 12.2 cm fell on April 3, another 14 cm on April 16 and 12.6 cm on April 29.

In fact, 21 out of 30 days in Rankin this past April produced snow, combining for a whopping 94.6 cm of fresh powder on the ground heading into May.

And, while April certainly didn't bring any showers to Rankin, May wasn't doing anything for the hamlet's flower population either.

A total of 33.8 cm of fresh snow had fallen on the community by May 19, before warm weather finally made an appearance.

That broke the previous month-end total of 29.6 cm set in 2001.

The average snow amount for May is 11.5 cm.

The daily record of 13.6 cm was also broken twice in May, with 13.8 cm falling on May 12 and 14 cm on May 17.

Wallace says while things are looking good with the recent trend of warm weather, people should still use caution out on the land.

"Snow amounts on the ground are more like you would experience a month earlier, so take note if you think blizzard season is over.

"Long-range models still hint at normal conditions during the next few months, so there could be more records set before this chapter is finished."