page_title: Climate of Nova Scotia
section_title: Rainfall
hierarchical_section_title: Climate of Nova Scotia / Temperature and precipitation / Rainfall
caption_attribution_description: Satellite image of Nova Scotia and surrounding islands.
context_page_description: Nova Scotia lies in the mid-temperate zone and, although the province is almost surrounded by water, the climate is closer to continental rather than maritime. The temperature extremes of the continental climate are moderated by the ocean.
  Nova Scotia has frequent coastal fog and marked changeability of weather from day to day. The main factors influencing Nova Scotia's climate are:
  The effects of the westerly winds
  The interaction between three main air masses which converge on the east coast
  Nova Scotia's location on the routes of the major eastward-moving storms
  The moderating influence of the sea.
  Described on the provincial vehicle-licence plate as Canada's Ocean Playground, the sea is a major influence on Nova Scotia's climate. Nova Scotia's cold winters and warm summers are modified and generally moderated by ocean influences. The province is surrounded by four major bodies of water, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the north, the Bay of Fundy to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southwest, and Atlantic Ocean to the southeast.
context_section_description: All of Nova Scotia has precipitation well distributed around the year, with a slight summer maximum in some northern/interior areas, but a slight fall to early winter (October to January) maximum in southern and coastal areas, where July or August is the driest month on average. Fall and winter storms, arriving in or near Nova Scotia from the U.S. Northeast (often referred to as "nor'easters" because of the intense north east winds they carry), can attain tremendous intensity across coastal areas, resulting in high winds, heavy rain, ice or snow and sometimes all of the above in a single storm. Average annual precipitation changes from 140 centimetres (55 in) in the south with its intense cold-season storm activity, to 100 centimetres (40 in) elsewhere. In the northeast, Sydney is an especially wet area, with an average annual precipitation of nearly 60 inches, with a noticeable fall to early winter (October to January) concentration, and December the wettest month on average. Nova Scotia is also very foggy in places, with Halifax averaging 121 foggy days per year and Yarmouth 191.
caption: Satellite photo of Nova Scotia
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