Flights in and out of Lutsel K’e were cancelled earlier this week as a result of bad weather.
Air Tindi president Chris Reynolds confirmed that Monday’s flights were cancelled because of fog, and Tuesdays flights were unable to land due to extreme winds. Though he said the flight was rescheduled to Wednesday.
Lutsel K’e acting chief Addie Jonasson said flight cancellations due to weather are not uncommon for the community, especially around this time of year.
She said she is not overly concerned about the flight delays for now, though if they were to continue it would become worrisome.
"People that are coming back to work aren’t able to get back to their jobs,” she said.
Despite her calm over flight scheduling in the coming days, Jonasson said it has been “very, very windy.”
She said community members have had boats float away from the wind and she herself has lost two trees and several raspberry bushes that she planted on her property.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) meteorologist Sara Hoffman confirmed there have been strong winds in the area, though for fall she said they “are not particularly unusual.”
In Lutsel K’e she said winds Tuesday were about 70km/h and have continued to weaken throughout the week. By Friday, the wind in Lutsel K’e should be “at most” 50km/h, she said.
Criteria for warnings is wind at 90km/h.
Hoffman said the windy conditions are a result of a low pressure system that formed in Alberta and has been moving northeast.
Ulukhaktok has issued a wind warning in effect as a result. They have reported gusts as strong as 96km/h Wednesday, the strongest on record Hoffman said.
Yellowknife too has been seeing more wind than usual with gusts around 60km/h.
Hoffman said they are set to “ease off” throughout the week.