Where's spring? May kicked off with blizzard warning and up to 20 cm of snow
The calendar says May, but it didn't stop Mother Nature from bringing a blizzard to the Dempster Highway
Nothing says May quite like 20 cm of snow, 100 km/h winds, and a blizzard warning. 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 on Friday, advising drivers to consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve. However, winds will ease Saturday morning with visibility improving.
While blizzard conditions are expected to ease for the Dempster Highway by Saturday morning, snowfall and winter storm warnings have been added for Whatì and Behchokǫ̀, along with Highway 3, in the Northwest Territories.
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Heavy snowfall, up to 10-25 cm, and freezing rain are expected to continue through Saturday. Snowfall is expected to taper off Sunday morning.
The city of Yellowknife, N.W.T., has seen freezing rain and ice pellets, but conditions are expected to be worse outside the city (north of).
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, N.L., sometimes even seeing snow last into June.