Just to give you your update on the apocalypse, the temperature went up to +2C today, and was as high as +3.5C yesterday. To put that in comparison, the normal seasonal high for this time of the year is -16C. Now, if this was a blip, a one or two day thing, you could just write it off as a freak occurrence. Because this kind of thing happens from time to time. A couple of years ago it rained on February 28. Freaky little weather bombs happen.
But we've been going through this for about two months now. Where everyone is waiting for the temperature to bottom out and it hasn't happened. It's gone from amusement to genuine "what the hell is going on?" I don't want to say this has never happened before, but I've yet to encounter anyone in Iqaluit who has any memory of this sort of thing happening.
We're in some of the darkest days of the year right now...we're getting a little more than four hours of direct sunshine and probably around six or so when you throw in civil twilight. For it still to be mild out is....odd. It's also turned Iqaluit into a skating rink. My driveway is essentially a sheet of ice right now. I'm tempted to put on my curling shoes to get to the truck.
Environment Canada is showing the temperatures might snap back to something resembling seasonal norms next week, but we'll see. I also wonder how much damage has been done for this year. The sea ice is already five weeks late in starting to form. Even with a proper cold snap it's going to be six-eight weeks late and may never really form properly.
I understand the Tim Hortons opening in town this week was a big deal and all, but I really think this is a bit of a big deal. You can talk to elders in town who can recall the bay being frozen solid by mid-October and going out on ski-doo or dog teams. Now people are wondering if they're going to have to boat to get to their cabins for Christmas holidays.
Anyway, I'll try and stop harping on it, but is genuinely freaky to me. And pretty much the biggest deal in town right now.
However, if you want some recommended reading, I say give this story a try. It's written by my friend Chris Windeyer and features one of the true characters of Iqaluit - Bryan Pearson. He's been up here forever and has done pretty much everything, although I know him primarily as the guy who runs the cinema. He's much more than that.
He's about as blunt a person as you'll ever meet and Chris does a nice job profiling him. And thank god Up Here gave Chris some leeway with the language he uses in the piece. It wouldn't have been as entertaining if Chris had to clean up what Pearson says and the way he portrays him.
It's a good story...go read it.
Last Five
1. The hunter, the hunted - Matt Mays and El Torpedo
2. Shotgun wedding - Andrew LeDrew
3. Should I stay or should I go (live) - The Clash*
4. Jim Rombolt's tune - Figgy Duff
5. Red is the rose (live) - Nanci Griffith and the Chieftains
2 comments:
Yeah, but 1000 years ago the arctic was much warmer than it has been in the past few hundred years. There are cycles of warming and cooling. It is pretty dramatic this year though! The weather all over North America is a little unusual though, could just be a weird year.
I hope you have a snow base by now that isn't melting completely, or it sure would be dark in the dark season without snow to brighten it up.
After watching some dinosaur DVDs with the kids about the dramatic weather changes back then, this just sounds scary. Sure, those cycles are probably normal, in the grand scheme of things, but it is somewhat uncomfortable when it unfolds in front of your eyes! It is supposed to rain for the next week in Halifax as well--+8 today.
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