Environment Canada says heavy rains have passed for the Paulatuk region, after nearly 70 mm fell in a two-day period beginning Friday.
That’s normally what the region would receive in total for the duration of the summer season and more than one third of its total precipitation per year on average.
According to the federal weather agency, about 45 mm of rain fell on Friday and more than 25 mm of additional rain fell on Saturday. Another 10 mm is forecast to fall Sunday.
Over the past 50 years, Paulatuk has received about 191 mm of precipitation per year and about 69 mm total in the summer season, according to data collected by the Prairie Climate Centre and the Climate Atlas of Canada.
According to the research data, days of high precipitation for the region show a pattern of increase due to climate change, especially under high carbon scenarios.
Earlier this week, Environment Canada had warned that a storm surge was anticipated to hit the coastal region of Tuktoyaktuk and heavy rains to fall in Paulatuk beginning Friday. The federal agency had advised that heavy rains of up to 100 mm could fall by weekend’s end, posing risks of localized flooding.
Later in the week, Environment Canada upgraded the warning for Paulatuk, Tulı́t’a, Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake.
The agency had also warned that nearly 20 cm of snow could fall in Fort Good Hope, but Norman Wells saw some snow on the ground Saturday morning, according to reports.
Researchers noted that precipitation is “much more difficult” to predict than other elements of climate like temperature.
They explained that projections of longer-term averages for monthly, seasonal and annual precipitation can be predicted with much greater accuracy.
Climate scientists have noted that the number of heavy precipitation events, especially rainfall events have increased. Data projections show patterns of precipitation becoming more frequent and more intense.
Climate change impacts have been more pronounced in Arctic regions, where temperatures are rising three to four times faster than the global average.
