Snow removal signs and snow piled on the road are seen in Yellowknife, NWT, Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. Residents and city staff in the Northwest Territories capital are struggling to keep up with the onslaught of snow. Residents and city staff in the Northwest Territories capital are struggling to keep up with the onslaught of snow. Longtime Yellowknifer and former territorial politician Kieron Testart says he was pulling out of his driveway Friday morning when he got stuck in a snowbank that had formed overnight. “I had done my best to clean it up, but it’s so much that shovels aren’t really enough,” he said. “I haven’t seen it like this in a long, long time.” Testart said he was rescued by a neighbor, who was driving and pulling out other drivers stuck in the snow. “When snow paralyzes a community, it affects everything from schools to the economy to public safety,” he said. Chris Greencorn, director of public works and engineering with the city, said this month’s snow is nearly six times what fell at this time last year. “It has pushed us to the limit,” he said. “All our crews are working day and night.” Adding to the problem, Greencorn said, is that many residents shovel snow from their driveways onto the street, which is against city regulations. “(This) makes it worse for smaller cars and people with mobility impairments to get around,” he said. Greencorn said while some residents have expressed frustration with the city’s snow-clearing efforts, Yellowknife’s budget is based on historical trends and currently allows for eight plows. The city said Friday it plans to join forces with contractors over the weekend and next week to increase snow removal and winter road maintenance throughout Yellowknife. Sarah Hoffman, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said as of Tuesday, 46.6 centimeters of snow had fallen in Yellowknife compared to the 30-year average of 31.9 centimeters. But he said it’s nowhere near the November record of 85.5 centimeters in Yellowknife set in 2006. Hoffman said this month was also warmer than usual in the city averaging -10 C compared to the historical average of about -14 C. The warmest Yellowknife November on record was in 1983 when it recorded an average temperature of -5, 9C. But the high temperatures are not expected to last. Hoffman said a cold snap is coming as early as Monday, when temperatures are expected to drop more than 10 degrees below average for this month. “It can be a bit of a shock,” he said. “It’s going to be a very sharp change in temperatures.”
