Making Waves, Snow, & Ice

Arctic Bay is subject to bad weather from time to time.  The most common are blizzards, high winds, and extreme cold.  The surrounding hills & mountains do offer a substantial amount of protection, but unfortunately, nature always finds a way.  We got a good example on October 13.

Bad weather usually begins in the morning and then dissipates in the afternoon.  The other way around is rare.  Well, this time was one of those rare times.  There was wind blowing through the community in the early morning hours, but it wasn’t strong enough to warrant the closure of school.  However, the wind intensified that by lunchtime, the local school board decided to cancel afternoon classes.  I stayed for the afternoon to get ahead in my work, but first I walked down to the shoreline after lunch to document the weather.

The strong winds were coming from the south and blowing north towards the community.  The waves crested and crashed onto the shoreline as I took several pictures.  (The waves weren’t tsunami strong).  Grey overcast clouds hung low above the community.  Looking out into the bay gave the appearance that I was not in Arctic Bay, but somewhere down south, like Newfoundland or Nova Scotia.  I also imagined myself trying to surf the waves on a surf board . . . and ironing board.  I returned to my classroom after taking pictures and a few short video clips.  The winds died down the next day.

The first heavy snowfall arrived on October 15.  There was snow everywhere: on the ground, streets, porches, vehicles, boats, and roofs.  And it wasn’t melting.  It wouldn’t be long until the sounds of moving snowmobiles would be heard throughout the community.  I decided to wait a few more days and then get my skidoo moving.  I spent a good 20 minutes after school clearing the snow off my front porch, steps, and skidoo cover.

Snow comes first and ice comes second.  The bay and inlets slowly freeze and become solid by the end of October.  A large collection of ice and snow appeared along the shoreline on October 20.  I’m not an ice forming expert, but I think this large formation came from the sea and not from the bay itself.  When the bay freezes, the ice forms a smooth surface.  This looked like as if a collection of icebergs broke apart into many, many pieces, and then carried here by the currents.  Boaters wanting to hunt will have to leave the breakwater pier and navigate through this ice formation slowly & carefully.  If that’s not possible, they’ll have to start removing their boats from the water or risk having them frozen in place until next year.