 |
|
|
|
|
  
|
Two communities hit record high temperatures
Fort Liard 30 degrees warmer than normal; Fort Simpson 23 degrees above averageRoxanna Thompson Northern News Services Published Thursday, December 8, 2011
Fort Simpson was slightly behind, reaching 5.8 C breaking the previous high of –5 C for Nov. 5 set in 1988. The village was 23 degrees warmer than normal. Fort Liard resident Jana Deneron drove around her community on Monday taking pictures to record all of the water from the melting snow and ice. Deneron said a lot of children were taking advantage of the warm weather to play outside in the slush. They also tried jumping over the hamlet's ditches. "I saw a few people with soakers," she said. Deneron said the weather was beautiful but very slippery. "It was nice weather for awhile but hard to deal with," said Bernie Bonnetrouge, the hamlet's supervisor of building maintenance and the acting manager of municipal works and services. Temperatures started to climb in the hamlet on Sunday reaching 9.3 C. A lot of snow melted leaving everything coated in ice by Monday morning, said Bonnetrouge. "Everyone had to be more careful," he said. "It was dangerous just walking around yesterday." Hamlet staff used ice blades on equipment to scrape the roads and break up the ice surface. The hamlet's sewer truck got stuck early in the morning after sliding off of a driveway and had to be pulled out. Bonnetrouge said conditions had improved by Tuesday. Rain that started on Monday night turned into snow, which melted into the ice surfaces, making them less slick. The warm spell was caused by topography, said Natalie Hasell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada. Speaking on Monday, Hasell said there was a low pressure system located northeast of Sachs Harbour. The system had formed a trough, a line of low pressure, that extended south all the way to just north of Deadman Valley in the Nahanni National Park Reserve. The trough was creating winds from the west and southwest for Fort Liard. The topography of the area meant the wind was flowing downhill into the hamlet and air that goes down slope warms up, said Hasell. The wind had been flowing in that direction all day. "That's given it enough time to really warm up," she said. The condition was very similar to a chinook, said Hasell. Located farther from the mountains, Fort Simpson received less of the effect. By Monday afternoon the winds coming into the village had already turned to the northwest bringing colder air and temperatures, Hasell said.
|
