It's a Blizzard!!

Wow! What a blizzard! We heard on Thursday night that a blizzard was coming our way. Friday morning I was eagerly looking forward to my first official blizzard and a day off of work! However, the winds blew and the snow whistled around, but it didn't meet the official criteria for closing government offices: Visibility less than 200 metres, constant wind speeds exceeding 60km/h and (if you can believe it) a wind chill index of -50C or greater! Now that in itself will tell you about how hardy the people of the north are!

But, by the time we left work on Friday afternoon, the conditions were worsening. And, as luck (or not) would have it, my first blizzard struck on the weekend! As I am sitting here typing this, the winds are howling outside my building. I can't see the buildings across the street because of the blowing snow. There is no way that I could walk outside... I'd look like a little black tumbleweed, blowing down the street in my arctic parka and gear! No way will I venture outside to see if that would be true!

Since coming to Baker, I've been told by the locals and staff who have moved here from the south, not to take the weather lightly. One story I was told was of a young mother from Baker who ventured out in a storm last year. She was suffering post-partum depression and wanted to go to the cemetary to talk with her grandmother who had passed on, but who she felt provided guidance and support to her. The young mother got disoriented on the way to the cemetary which is very common in the pure white-out conditions of a blizzard. A local search team comprised of RCMP, Rangers and volunteers searched for her. It wasn't until 3 days later that they found her body, in the fetal position, about a kilometre from the cemetary. Such a sad story, but one that definitely speaks to the immense power and fury of Mother Nature.

Tomorrow morning I am supposed to be flying to Iqaluit, the capital, for a week of meetings. It is quite unlikely that we will get out (and the only way to get out of communities in Nunavut is to fly, as there are no roads linking any of the communities). The blizzard is supposed to end around mid-day tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see whether or not the airlines reschedule earlier flights if the weather lets up. I doubt any flights have come in since Friday morning, so it could be quite a backlog! Wish me luck!

I've included a picture of the blizzard from earlier in the afternoon. The winds had subsided a bit at that time but it was still difficult to see the buildings across the street. Unfortunately, it's difficult to capture the power of the winds and the bitterness of the windchill, but trust me, it's "hang on to your hat", "tie yourself down" kind of weather. Wicked!!