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N.S. is on track for below average snow season despite 30-cm overnight snowfall

HALIFAX — An Environment Canada meteorologist says Nova Scotia is on track for a total snowfall this year that is well below average — despite the 30 centimetres of snow that blanketed the province overnight.
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Snow covers a stop sign following a winter storm in Halifax on Friday, March 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

HALIFAX — An Environment Canada meteorologist says Nova Scotia is on track for a total snowfall this year that is well below average — despite the 30 centimetres of snow that blanketed the province overnight. 

The national weather agency issued snowfall warnings for much of Nova Scotia yesterday and this morning, while the weather led to school cancellations across the province, and delayed the opening of libraries, provincial offices and universities.

Meteorologist Bob Robichaud says the weather system that brought 50- to 70-kilometre-an-hour winds and heavy snow did not bring enough precipitation to catch Nova Scotia up to its regular winter snow levels.

Robichaud says this winter is warmer than usual, with temperatures on average one to 2.5 degrees higher than normal throughout the province.

He says Nova Scotia's snow levels have been so low over the winter that it would take an extreme amount of snow to catch up. 

Data over 30 years shows that the Halifax area typically sees 221 centimetres of snow per season, and Robichaud says this year so far only about 50 centimetres of snow has fallen. 

“We’re so far behind now that it would take a March that I do not want to see to be able to get back on track,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2023.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press

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