El Nino and climate change led to an unusually warm December in Łutsël, N.W.T., affecting Christmas plans and ice-related activities due to Great Slave Lake not freezing over as expected.
The ice road between Detah and Yellowknife is opening Friday, a date that ties a decades-old record.
The number of vehicles reported to have gone through the ice around Yellowknife continues to rise. According to the N.W.T. Department of Environment, its spill response team has responded to three vehicles through the ice so far this year.
Darcy Bourassa was just walking around his house on Tuesday when 'I must have stepped right in the perfect spot and went through.' "What I think was happening here is there's a lot of snow built up it's really insulated in the snow and it hasn't been cold this fall or this winter so there's not a lot of ice penetration underneath that snow."
It’s a winter wonderland in Yellowknife Wednesday, as the city cleans up after 24.2 centimetres of snow fell on Tuesday— a record breaking amount.
The country's 3,300 miles of ice roads are a lifeline for marooned communities during frigid winters, but climate change is making the roads unsafe much earlier.
Construction is beginning today on the ice road connecting Yellowknife to Dettah on the N.W.T.'s Yellowknife Bay, but a warm November means that it will open in January for the second time since the 2006/2007 season, and the second year in a row.
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