Nor’easter brings heavy snow, high winds to Nova Scotia

Playing null of undefined

Cape Breton businesses closed after heavy snowfall

Eastern N.S. catches heavy snow as storm clears to the northeast

Powerful nor'easter slams parts of Atlantic Canada, up to 50 centimetres of snow expected

Fast-moving storm hits N.S.

Weather update: Feb, 2, 2026

A third storm in as many weeks has brought heavy snow and high winds to parts the Maritimes, cancelling many schools in Nova Scotia as well as the annual Groundhog Day event in Shubenacadie.

Weather alerts

A coastal flooding statement in place from Nova Scotia from Yarmouth County to Halifax County has ended.

Environment Canada warned of very high tides and higher-than-normal water levels Monday morning.

Yellow snowfall warnings are still in place for Inverness County and Victoria County in Cape Breton.

Nearly 20 cm of total snowfall is expected, with locally higher amounts possible, before gradually easing later in the morning or early afternoon.

Gusty northeast, then northerly, winds are accompanying the snow, which will cause reduced visibility.

Meanwhile, yellow winter storm warnings are in place for Richmond County and Sydney Metro and Cape Breton County.

Nearly 25 cm of total snow is expected in those areas along with northeasterly wind gusts of up 80 km/h.

Environment Canada says travel will likely be challenging and power outages are possible.

There are no weather alerts in place for New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island.

School closures

There are several school closures and delays in eastern mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton.

A full list can be found here.

Other closures, delays

All municipal offices in Halifax delayed opening until 10 a.m. 

Municipally-owned and operated recreation facilities delayed opening.

The Halifax Public Gardens are closed.

All branches and departments of Halifax Public Libraries delayed opening until 11 a.m., except the Musquodoboit Harbour Public Library which delayed opening until 1 p.m.

Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) says city hall, C200, CBRM-owned recreational facilities, and Cape Breton Regional Police Service buildings will be closed.

Shubenacadie Sam

The annual Groundhog Day event scheduled at Shubenacadie Wildlife Park is cancelled.

“Shubenacadie Sam is staying in the burrow and will not see a shadow, which – according to folklore – means an early spring,” reads a post on the park’s Facebook page.

Power

As of 1 p.m., there were 22 active outages in Nova Scotia affecting 139 customers.

There are currently no outages in New Brunswick or P.E.I.

Travel

Due to adverse weather conditions, the following Marine Atlantic sailing for Monday is cancelled:

• The 11:45 a.m. crossing from Port aux Basques, N.L., to North Sydney, N.S.

There are also potential delays for the following crossings:

• The 11:15 p.m. from North Sydney to Port aux Basques
• The 11:30 p.m. from Port aux Basques to North Sydney

Bay Ferries says the Fundy Rose departure time from Saint John, N.B., on Monday was revised due to the wind and sea state forecast.

The 9 a.m. departure was changed to 11 a.m.

The Digby, N.S., departure remains at 4 p.m.

The Tancook Ferry cancelled the 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. sailings. The ferry was back in service for the 8 a.m. sailing.

Many flights at Halifax Stanfield International Airport are delayed or cancelled.

Snow routes for Halifax Transit buses will be in effect. There is no impact to ferry service, beyond the ongoing 30-minute service disruption for the Alderney ferry.

Kings Transit in the Annapolis Valley delayed starting service until 8 a.m.

Transit Cape Breton is not operating Monday.

Parking ban

HRM says the overnight winter parking ban will continue to be enforced, in both Zone 1 – Central and Zone 2 – Non-Central, from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Tuesday.

“Vehicles must be off municipal streets during the hours noted above. Regardless of the status of an overnight winter parking ban, or whether you have received a notification, vehicles can be towed, day or night, at any time of year, if they are interfering with snow-clearing operations,” reads a news release from the municipality.

Curbside collection

Curbside collection is cancelled for Monday in the CBRM. Extra garbage bags and green cart material will be collected on the next regularly scheduled collection day.

Curbside collection of solid waste will proceed as scheduled in the HRM.

Canada Post

Canada Post says red delivery service alerts have issued for parts of Nova Scotia.

There are no deliveries in the following locations Monday due to heavy snow:

• Cape Breton
• Dartmouth
• Halifax
• New Glasgow

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page