Arviat Nunavit a true blizzard

[Mitchel Volk]

A increadable blizzard is occurring here. It hase been -27 S+ with 35+ winds since 4 pm and moderate since noon EST.

https://weather.gc.ca/trends_table/pages/yek_metric_e.html

[Jim Marusak]

wow. sublimation crystals and blowing snow, with blowing snow 7/8 of the sky. talk about wicked conditions i would not want to be out in. i'd like to know how they can discern between Ice Crystals/sublimation crystals and blowing snow.

 

metars obs up there for the record since 12z this morning

 

CYEK 271200Z AUTO 34023G28KT 3/8SM SN BLSN M33/M36 A3013 RMK MAX WND 35026KT AT 1148Z CLD MISG SLP206=CYEK 271300Z CCA 34027KT 3/8SM IC BLSN VV004 M32/M36 A3011 RMK BLSN8 OB TAKEN +05 SLP198=CYEK 271300Z 34027KT 3/8SM IC BLSN VV004 M32/M36 A3011 RMK BLSN8 OB TAKEN +05 SLP198=CYEK 271300Z CCA 34027KT 3/8SM IC BLSN VV004 M32/M36 A3011 RMK BLSN8 OB TAKEN +05 SLP198=CYEK 271300Z 34027KT 3/8SM IC BLSN VV004 M32/M36 A3011 RMK BLSN8 OB TAKEN +05 SLP198=CYEK 271300Z CCA 34027KT 3/8SM IC BLSN VV004 M32/M36 A3011 RMK BLSN8 OB TAKEN +05 SLP198=CYEK 271300Z 34027KT 3/8SM IC BLSN VV004 M32/M36 A3011 RMK BLSN8 OB TAKEN +05 SLP198=CYEK 271300Z CCA 34027KT 3/8SM IC BLSN VV004 M32/M36 A3011 RMK BLSN8 OB TAKEN +05 SLP198=CYEK 271300Z 34027KT 3/8SM IC BLSN VV004 M32/M36 A3011 RMK BLSN8 OB TAKEN +05 SLP198=CYEK 271400Z 34024KT 3/8SM IC BLSN VV004 M31/M35 A3011 RMK BLSN8 SLP199=CYEK 271439Z 34023KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M31/M35 A3011 RMK BLSN7 SLP198=CYEK 271400Z 34024KT 3/8SM IC BLSN VV004 M31/M35 A3011 RMK BLSN8 SLP199=CYEK 271439Z 34023KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M31/M35 A3011 RMK BLSN7 SLP198=CYEK 271400Z 34024KT 3/8SM IC BLSN VV004 M31/M35 A3011 RMK BLSN8 SLP199=CYEK 271439Z 34023KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M31/M35 A3011 RMK BLSN7 SLP198=CYEK 271500Z 34023KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M31/M34 A3010 RMK BLSN7 SLP194=CYEK 271600Z 33023G29KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271600Z CCA 33023G29KT 1/4SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271600Z 33023G29KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271600Z CCA 33023G29KT 1/4SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271600Z 33023G29KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271600Z CCA 33023G29KT 1/4SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271600Z 33023G29KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271600Z CCA 33023G29KT 1/4SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271600Z 33023G29KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271600Z CCA 33023G29KT 1/4SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271600Z 33023G29KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271600Z CCA 33023G29KT 1/4SM IC +BLSN SKC M30/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP188=CYEK 271700Z 34028G33KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M29/M33 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP186=CYEK 271800Z 33022G29KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M29/M32 A3008 RMK BLSN7 SLP187=CYEK 271900Z 34023G28KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M28/M31 A3007 RMK BLSN7 SLP183=CYEK 272000Z 34027G33KT 1/4SM IC +BLSN SKC M28/M31 A3005 RMK BLSN7 SLP177=CYEK 272100Z 34028KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M28/M31 A3005 RMK BLSN7 SLP178=CYEK 272200Z 34027G33KT 1/8SM IC +BLSN SKC M28/M31 A3005 RMK BLSN7 SLP176=

[Roger Smith]

Not sure how much longer this mild spell will last !!

 

(Canadian in-joke there)

 

As bad as that sounds, it is only marginally better in the Georgian Bay snow belt at times, I think this past day has seen almost continuous blizzard and white-out conditions with gusts to 40 or 50 mph and temperatures steady near zero F. Sometimes these squall bands oscillate and you get breaks (I used to live in one of these areas) but sometimes you are stuck in a heavy squall band for 36 or even 48 hours with barely a break at all. I noted 72 hours of blizzard conditions from April 2 to 4, 1975 at my location -- and the end result was roads blocked for almost a week across a whole county in central Ontario. People were stuck in a squall blizzard for a week at the end of Jan 1971. At least in the high arctic, the people have no other place to go anyway, except for the hunters who can't go out on their snowmobiles. It's probably worse for "southerners" (Canadian style) who probably have jobs and other commitments they can't reach during these blizzards. And you do get true zero visibility, I've been out shovelling a driveway in one of these storms and I couldn't even see the lights of vehicles that I could hear passing on the road 50 feet away.