Welcoming May with a blizzard warning and 20 cm of snow
The calendar may say it’s officially May, but that’s not stopping Mother Nature from bringing a blizzard to the Dempster Highway
Nothing says May quite like 20 cm of snow, 100 km/h winds, and blizzard warnings. That's the reality across northern Canada's Dempster Highway as we start this first full weekend of the month.
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A blizzard warning was issued for the region early Friday morning, warning drivers to consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve.
"Blizzard conditions with gusty winds and visibility frequently near zero in snow and blowing snow are expected or occurring," said Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in the warning.
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Winds are expected to intensify through the day on Friday, gusting to 110 km/h. With the fresh snow falling, these winds could create deteriorating visibility and dangerous whiteout conditions.
"Travel is expected to be very difficult or impossible due to near-zero visibility," ECCC warns.
Between 10 to 20 cm of snow is forecast Friday and into Saturday.
It is pretty rare for blizzard warnings this late in the season, but it is not unheard of. In 2022, the latest blizzard warning for the Dempster Highway was issued on June 7-8.
The Dempster Highway, also known as Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories Highway 8, is a Canadian highway that links the Klondike Highway in Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories, on the Mackenzie River delta.
While many folks are eager to fast-forward to summer as May begins, the atmosphere occasionally likes to dish out these throwbacks to wintertime.
Springtime snows are common on the western Prairies as low-pressure systems interact with cold air from the north and ample moisture streaming in from the south.
The eastern half of the country is certainly no stranger to May snows, either, with places like St. John's, Nfld., sometimes even seeing snow last into June.