**** Info via the NS Weather Service
It was 16 years ago today that Nova Scotia was slammed with a blizzard/nor’easter dubbed White Juan. The blizzard came five months after Hurricane Juan made landfall in Nova Scotia and many say White Juan was a hurricane in disguise.
The storm’s central pressure dropped 57 mb in 42 hours, making it one of the most explosive weather bombs ever, according to Environment Canada, which adds it was more powerful than Hurricane Juan that struck the same area five months earlier. The heavy snow combined with wind gusts up to 124 km/h in some locations created zero visibility.
Snowfall rates of five centimetres per hour were recorded for 12 straight hours. Blowing snow and high winds maintained blizzard conditions for a day or more and created snow drifts as tall as three metres. Shearwater Airport reported a whopping 95.5 cm of snow, Halifax Stanfield 66.8 cm, Yarmouth Airport 82.6 cm and Sydney Airport 67.4 cm. Halifax and Yarmouth broke all-time 24-hour snowfall records.
A province-wide states of emergency was declared. Halifax issued a nightly curfew over three days for all but essential workers in order clear the snow. It took almost a week before bus and ferry service resumed and schools re-opened.
I look forward to reading any stories or memories you have of White Juan.
-Above information supplied by Environment Canada-
