Tuktoyaktuk (Feb 27/06) - Weather in the region will return to normal winter conditions in the next week, says Yvonne Bilan-Wallace, Environment Canada meteorologist.

"The area is heading toward regular winter temperatures during the weekend," she said.

The forecast is calling for temperatures to slide down to -18C to -22C.

This brief winter interlude, as Bilan-Wallace describes the weather change, is a dramatic change to the record-breaking warm temperatures throughout the Delta during the past week.

Inuvik was a warm as 1.5C on Feb. 19, breaking the previous temperature high of -5C.

The latest cold snap began with a bit of a bang as a storm originating from the western Arctic Ocean hit Tuktoyaktuk with winds reaching 60km/h on Feb. 22.

"The gas stations, hamlet and the ice road have all been shut down," said Merven Gruben, Tuktoyaktuk deputy mayor.

In Aklavik, Dean McLeod, who works for the hamlet is happy to see the weather return to normal.

"If it warms up again too early, the ice roads might go out and that would affect our spring carnivals in April," McLeod said.

"We need cool weather for the ice carnivals."