Canada's first blizzard warning of the season issued in Nunavut
Digital Reporter
Thursday, October 2, 2014, 6:55 PM - Well, it's happened: Environment Canada has issued the country's first blizzard warning of the season.
Warnings are in effect for Nunavut's Chesterfield Inlet and Rankin Regions, with poor visibility from snow and blowing snow in the forecast.
"An intense storm system over western Hudson Bay is producing snow and very strong northeast winds along the Hudson Bay coastline of the Kivalliq region [Thursday]", Environment Canada says in a statement.
"Blizzard conditions have developed over Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet as of noon with northeast winds gusting to 70 or 80 km/h along with falling snow producing widespread visibilities of 400 metres or less. These conditions will likely persist through the rest of the day into this evening before gradual improvement overnight."
While this isn't the first time snowfall warnings have been issued in Canada this year, it does mark the first blizzard warning the country has seen since last winter.
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"A blizzard represents the worst of winter weather because it combines wind and snow," explains Weather Network meteorologist Dayna Vettese.
"Blizzards can make it dangerous to be outdoors. We'll see more warnings like this as fall progresses. The north sees these warnings first because this region gets colder faster than the southern tier of the country."
