I'm not going to lie, I've done this story originally for Canada's Weather Network so I find it a pretty unique story.
That's the story of Laurentian Ski Hill and its snowmaking equipment.
Of course, North Bay is spoiled having a ski hill built right inside the city.
While most remote ski hills can make snow anytime without bothering anyone, that is certainly not the case at Laurentian Ski Hill.
You see, if snowmaking guns on Laurentian Ski Hills are making snow and say, the north winds start to blow, did you know those man-made flurries could cause whiteout conditions at our own Jack Garland Airport.
Former Ski Hill Manager Doug Newell, told me about a conversation he had with airport officials when snowmaking was causing an issue at the airport.
"I remember getting the first phone call and I was like, okay so I get off the phone and I contacted my outside operations guy and I said is that really true and he goes yeah, are we hitting the airport and I said yes, and he said OH GOSH, we better shut down right now! so it was quite a quick education on that one," Newell, who passed away a few years ago, told me in a very candid interview about the topic.
See related: Ski hill creates late night whiteout at Jack Garland Airport
The airport manager has dealt with the issue a few times over the years.
“The snowmaking equipment, depending on the conditions, will make snow that comes right up the hill and create its own snowfall,” said Airport Manager Jack Santerre back in 2016 after a whiteout caused issues at the airport that winter.
Airports around the country can be envious of that, they just wish that they could push a similar button to stop snowmaking created by Mother Nature.
