Power restored to Arviat after windstorm left some without power for 2 days

Power has been restored to residents in Arviat, Nunavut, after a windstorm left some without power for 2 days.

With winds forecast to gust up to 110 kilometres an hour in Arviat on Monday, power lines were buffeted by the weather.

"I've been around a while, I am not young man anymore and this is the worst wind I've seen in a long time," said Tommy Owlijoot, deputy mayor of Arviat.

He said the airport was closed and many homes and businesses were without power. Owlijoot said the power was on in his home, interspersed with 15 minute outages.

"I think some of the wires were snapping in half because some of us in Arviat were seeing wires flashing at night time. You could see the wires flashing quite bright," he said.

Temperatures dropped to around -20 degrees with the wind chill.

According to Qulliq Energy Corporation's Twitter feed, most of Arviat's power was restored Monday, but high winds continued to cause outages for those on one of community's feeder lines. It also said that some line fuses in the industrial area of the hamlet will need to be repaired.

A Qulliq Energy crew from Rankin Inlet is scheduled to arrive in the community at 4:30 p.m. to help with required repairs.

Whale Cove has also experienced power outages due to high winds. 

Both feeders are out in Whale Cove, according to the company's most recent Twitter update, and repair crews will need to be sent to the community when the weather improves.