Potent winter storm headed straight for Sachs Harbour, Ulukhaktok and Cambridge Bay

A major winter storm is making its way towardthe Beaufort Delta and then into the Kitikmeot Wednesday through Friday.

The weather-maker here is a low-pressure system developing from the west, getting energy and moisture from Alaska and Yukon. This will bring blizzard conditions to more northern communities such as Ulukhaktok and Sachs Harbour, N.W.T., while further south in Kugluktuk and Paulatuk freezing rain, ice pellets and gusting winds are on the way.

As of Wednesday afternoon, blizzard warnings are in effect for Cambridge Bay and Sachs Harbour, andCambridge Bay is under a winter storm watch from Environment Canada.

Wind gusts up to 76 km/h were recorded Wednesday morning in Ulukhaktok. Windy conditions with blowing snow will continue before the low really hits the region and they will continue as heavy snow begins to fall.

Peoplein Sachs Harbour should expect wind gusts to 80 km/h, while Ulukhaktok will see gusts to 110 km/h beginning Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Cambridge Bay will see gusts to 90 km/h beginning Thursday morning.

Heavy snowfall will begin through the evening Wednesday

Flurries turning into heavy snowfall will make their way into the region as the low approaches overnight into Thursday. Sachs Harbour is expectedto see the highest amount of accumulation of any community, with 15 centimetres on the way.

Further north on Banks Island and Victoria Island, accumulation could surpass 30 or more centimetres. This complicates things with this system, since winds look to shift Thursdayinto Friday, and some of this heavy accumulation could end up in Ulukhaktok and Sachs Harbour.

Either way, blizzard conditions will continue through Friday in Ulukhaktok and Sachs Harbour, and are likely in Cambridge Bay as well.

Warm temperatures leading to messy weather further south

Turning to the southern part of this system, warm air is the story. This is because the jetstream is skyrocketing temperatures in the southern N.W.T., and this warm air is going to pull into communities such as Paulatuk and Kugluktuk, and possibly even Sachs Harbour.

So, with that said, a band of freezing rain looks likely as well with this system. The communities with the highest risk are Tuktoyaktuk, Inuvik, Paulatuk and Kugluktuk. But all of these communities are also likely to see gusts up to 60 km/h and a few centimetres of snow.

As you can see, there are a lot of factors with this winter storm, but it is definitely bringing messy weather through the end of the week.