Quiet Christmas weather leads up to a Boxing Day blowout

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I feel like I've been singing carols and eating too much food for most of December already but that's probably because we've been on a roller coaster, weather-wise, in the North.

The weather for this holiday season is fairly clear for most of the territories but Boxing Day is a different story for Baffin Island.

A little bit of snow for Thursday

No matter where in the North you are, we are all in for a quiet holiday season with only our closest loved ones and the weather took note of these restrictions too. For those kids getting ready for a visit from Santa, or families enjoying a quiet night at home sipping eggnog, it will generally be quiet even outside.

The biggest weather maker in the North throughout the day on Christmas Eve is a low-pressure system that will continue moving from Yukon into the N.W.T. through the morning. Tento 15 centimetres of snow is likely by Thursday night in northern N.W.T. communities such as Deline, Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake. The Dempster Highway will likely have blowing snow which will ease into the afternoon.

Another low-pressure system will form over Great Slave Lake from this system and move east towardthe Kivalliqregion. This will bring near-blizzard conditions through the day to communities like Rankin Inlet and Arviat. Gusts up to 60 km/h are expected.

The low will move over into Hudson Bay and continue to bring snow through Christmas Day. Arviat, Chesterfield Inlet and Rankin Inlet look to get eight to 12 centimetres of snow with this system.

Big Boxing Day storm for Baffin Island

On Saturday, Boxing Day, things change as a winter storm heads straight for Baffin Island through Nunavik.

It will make its way through Nunavik overnight Christmas into Boxing Day, ramping up through the day. This will bring gusts up to 80 km/h for Coral Harbour, Kinngait and Iqaluit. Even harder hit will be Kimmirut with gusts up to 120 km/h expected on Saturday.

This storm will stick around through Sunday before dissipating. Then another storm system will follow a similar path towardBaffin Island on Monday.

Total snowfall accumulations over the three days are likely to be 30 to 40 centimetres in Kimmirut, Iqaluit, Qikiqtarjuaq and Pangnirtung. Meanwhile, five to 15 centimetres are expected in Clyde River, Sanikiluaq and Kinngait.

If this tracks how it looks today, blizzard conditions are likely through the weekend. This will be a good time to spend more time at home with close family.

Happy holidays everyone, and enjoy the quiet weather while you can!