Halifax sees largest snowfall of the winter, more snow coming for southwestern Nova Scotia

A photo of viewer Mark Charbonneau's deck on Mar. 3, 2023, in Eastern Passage, N.S. (Contributed)

March came in like a lion, indeed.

It was the largest snowfall of the season so far for Halifax and other communities of Nova Scotia. Reports from around the Halifax area ranged 23 to 31 centimetres of snow. That edged out the Feb. 13 and 14 snowfall that also came in with some totals just over 20 centimetres for the area.

A broad swath ranging from the southernmost areas in New Brunswick across much of mainland Nova Scotia picked up a 20 to 30 centimetre snowfall out of this event. Other parts of the Maritimes received between 5 and 15 centimetres of snow. Some of the lower totals were seen in northern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton, which were areas on the outskirt of the system. Snow totals were a bit lower in coastal areas of the southwest of Nova Scotia due to some mixing in of rain and ice pellets.

We are not done with the March snow yet. A strong low-pressure system moving out of the southern United States will bring winter storm conditions to southern Ontario Friday. The low, like the last several, will exit the northeastern United States and take a track that holds it south of the Maritimes. It won’t come in quite as close, so it is mostly parts of southwestern Nova Scotia that are going to see a heavier snow from it.

Snow will likely reach the Tri-County area of Nova Scotia by 6 to 8 a.m. Saturday morning. Snow will continue in the southwest of Nova Scotia through Saturday afternoon before clearing Saturday evening. Lighter snow and flurries from the system will also reach the southwestern corner of New Brunswick, as well the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia and possibly Halifax Regional Municipality.

The most snow is forecast for Yarmouth and Shelburne Counties. There, amounts of 10 to 20 centimetres look likely. Snowfall warnings have been posted with Environment Canada noting “only 5 centimetres is forecast for inland areas.”