Historic flooding hits Nova Scotia amid torrential downpours
This weather event appears to be heaviest rainfall in Halifax area since Hurricane Beth in 1971
Nova Scotia is reeling from a historic flooding event after significant rainfall swept over the province this weekend.
The heaviest rain fell across an area that stretches from Liverpool in Queens County on the South Shore, through Lunenburg County, then across to northwest Halifax County and into Hants County.
Preliminary numbers showed rainfall totals in this area ranging from 100-250+ millimetres of rain as of 10 a.m. AT Sunday.
Some folks in these areas, especially near Bedford, Lower Sackville and Windsor, picked up much of that rain in just five to seven hours.
As a result, rivers and streams were overflowing and numerous road washouts are being reported by the Department of Public Works.
Rainy weekend
The heavy rainfall ended over western areas of Nova Scotia as of 11 a.m. Saturday, with just a few additional showers and downpours possible in the afternoon and evening.
The rain continued over eastern areas throughout the day with widespread additional amounts in the 20 to 50-millimetre range and 50 to 100 millimetres or more possible locally, due to more downpours and thunderstorms in this tropical setup.
The rain in the east was expected to taper off in the evening and overnight.
Past events
The most recent similar event occurred in Ingonish, Victoria County, in November 2021, when a rain and wind storm washed out several roads and bridges.
Before that, on Thanksgiving Day in 2014, Sydney experienced serious flooding, which forced dozens of homes to be evacuated.
But this appears to be the heaviest rainfall event to hit the Halifax area since Hurricane Beth in 1971.
That storm dropped 266 millimetres of rain at the Halifax airport and 238 millimetres at Shearwater.
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