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NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Severe winter weather wreaked havoc throughout the territory last week, leaving a trail of road closures and damage in its wake.

Last week's storm delivered wind speeds of 90 km/hr and had most of the territory under a weather warning. The Inuvik airport bore the brunt of the force as wind speeds tore a portion of the roof off. - NNSL photo

The high winds and blowing snow reduced visibility, forcing the Tuk ice road to close for two hours.

Other NWT ice roads and territorial highways also suffered the same fate.

"The ice crossing was closed for about two hours because of the visibility issue before noon on Wednesday," said Earl Blacklock, public affairs and communications officer for the Department of Transportation. "On the Mackenzie Valley winter road system everything north of Wrigley was closed and remains closed (as of Friday)."

The Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk and the Inuvik to Aklavik ice roads remain closed.

The Inuvik airport will need repairs after high winds tore off portions of the roof. Environment Canada recorded wind speeds in Inuvik on Jan. 16 of 45km/hr - plunging the mercury to -37 C.

Residents in Inuvik also had to dodge debris, in the form of a hot tub along the main street.

Schools and government offices were closed throughout the Beaufort Delta region and medical staff were only taking emergency patients at the clinics.

According to Environment Canada, Norman Wells recorded 38 hours of consistent storms - reducing visibility to 800 metres. The last storm to make the record books was Jan 28, 1962 when the blizzard continued for 20 hours.

The south of the territory missed the brunt of the storm, but saw temperatures dip to - 41 C In Yellowknife on Jan. 17.

As of Thursday, a blizzard and blowing snow warning was still in effect, driving the visibility down to just one kilometre. The communities of Sachs Harbour, Tuktoyaktuk, Aklavik, Fort Good Hope and Norman Wells were all under a blizzard and blowing snow warning.

Roads throughout NWT remained closed.

The Department of Transportation is urging residents to wait 24 hours after the storm has passed to resume travel, to give crews an opportunity to clear the highways.

It has been 14 months since the last NWT fatality on a street or highway, according to the department.

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