2023
2023 was an interesting year around the world, including Kentville, Nova Scotia.
It started with a fairly mild and snowless winter, with the exception of the Polar Vortex. This took place between February 3-4. It saw windchills in some parts of the province reaching as low as -40ºC. The coldest average temperature during this time was -21ºC in Kentville. People were told to stay inside, keep taps running, and hope that the power didn’t go out. Unfortunately, some did lose power, which resulted in pipes freezing and breaking one the power was restored. Many crops were lost, with stone fruit trees among the hardest hit. Following this event, there was a milder cold snap that occurred over the same weekend in March.
The remainder of March until the end of May seemed fairly normal, temperature wise. But at the end of May, we experienced an average daily temperature of +21ºC. The heat matched with extremely dry conditions led to two wildfires: the first in Shelburne County (Nova Scotia’s largest wildfire in history), and a community in Halifax. Trails, campgrounds, parks, and other wooded spaces were shut down for the first part of June in order to reduce the potential for more wildfire incidents. Thankfully, most Nova Scotian’s followed these rules. Yet, while most of the province experienced the haze of wildfire smoke, Kentville and many parts of the Annapolis Valley were spared. Many homes and pets were lost in these fires, but fortunately there were no deaths reported.
Most of the summer the province experienced a steady occurrence of rain. Following the wildfires, this was a welcomed sight, which quickly became less appreciated. Most of July was considered a heatwave, with some relief from the rain. However, it made things more humid more often than not. On July 22nd, several parts of the province experienced record-breaking rainfall. Halifax and Truro were two of the hardest hit areas, seeing rainfall amounts of 250mm in 24-hours. Highways were turned into rivers, people were stranded, and many homes and businesses were flooded. The estimated value of property damage from this rainfall is upwards of $267 million (CAD). Kentville and much of the Valley were once again spared from the weather event. But sadly, four lives were lost in the West Hants area.
September saw two significant tropical storms : Lee, a Category 5 hurricane, and Philippe, a tropical storm. Both arrived as post-tropical storms when they reached Nova Scotia. Lee left much of the South Shore, Halifax, and Truro without power and some reports of coastal flooding. Kentville and much of the Valley were relatively untouched. Power outages were reported, but were restored more quickly than in the harder hit areas. Philippe gave the province a bit of a break hitting the tip of western Nova Scotia. Once again, Kentville was fortunate.
October presented an interesting occurrence when it comes to fall foliage. The tourism sector in Nova Scotia is dependent on the vibrance of fall leaves. However, due to the lack of sunshine over the summer months, the leaves didn’t change the way they normally would. The either remained green, or the took on a more of a faded appearance rather than the pop of colour we are used to. This month also had some unseasonal warm days.
November and December remained mostly mild. Snow feel towards the end of November, with the first “big” snow occurring in Kentville on December 4th. Because of how mild the temperatures had been, the snow was heavy and wet. On December 18th, the Valley was hit by a significant windstorm which led to wide scale power outages and any downed trees. This was, by far, the most significant weather event in the Kentville area in 2023, with the exception of the Polar Vortex.