A Canadian study underway in eastern Nunavut is probing the impact snowstorms, strong winds and other hazardous weather conditions have on northerners.

Researchers with the Storm Studies in the Arctic (STAR) project are interviewing about 100 elders, hunters and other longtime residents of Iqaluit and Pangnirtung this year, to discuss how severe weather affects their daily lives.

"We hope to integrate the scientific knowledge with the traditional knowledge, local knowledge, and get … a better idea of what's needed in the North in terms of weather information, and make sure that everyone does feel that they have the resources necessary to prepare for hazardous weather," said Jadah Folliott, a lead investigator on the hazardous weather study from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont.

Hazardous weather in the Arctic can include:

  • Dangerous flying conditions caused by high winds or heavy snowfall.
  • Snow drifts that block roads and bury entire buildings.
  • Strong winds that damage buildings.
  • Warm temperatures that can melt permafrost, destabilizing infrastructure.
  • Freezing precipitation that affects wildlife habitats.

"Homeowners definitely have concerns in terms of, yeah, the winds," Folliott said. "One lady lost her railing in a wind storm, and windows have been broken."

Folliott said many of those surveyed have talked about how warm and dry it's been in Nunavut this summer, and how those conditions are affecting the land.

Researchers are also talking to local daycare workers about severe weather, and how daycare closings affect people's lives.

Climate change affecting seasons, forecasting

Many of those interviewed have talked about how rapidly the climate is changing, said Iqaluit resident Lazarus Arreak, who is helping researchers talk with people in Inuktitut.

Arreak said people have mentioned how the timing of the seasons is changing, and how unreliable weather forecasting has become.

Hunters and elders are particularly worried about the safety of people going out on the land.

Arreak said some are calling for more public awareness of "how to be prepared and basically to notice things around you, to be sure that you have the proper gear and that you inform appropriate people."

Information from the study, which is the second phase in the multi-year STAR project, will be provided to Nunavut communities in summer 2011.

Folliott said researchers hope the information they gather will help northerners adapt to future weather changes, for instance by changing the ways buildings are constructed and ensuring that boats are better protected from the elements.

With files from the CBC's Patricia Bell