More rain and snow fall on Cumberland County, Subdivision A than on 92% of Canadian towns: 1,247 mm a year
The coldest hours of a January night bottom out at −10.8°C on average. The seasons are far apart: from a winter night to a summer afternoon the average spans 34°C. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 88% of Canadian towns. Frost comes on about 159 days a year, so leave time to clear the car.
Measured at Parrsboro, 8.8 km south-east: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Cumberland County, Subdivision A at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Cumberland County, Subdivision A’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia beside it.
What a year in Cumberland County, Subdivision A feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
Frost on 159 days, 20°C on 83
From October to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 7 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 1,247 mm a year
The most falls in December, the least in August. On about 132 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 232 cm in a normal year
Snow falls from November to April, most of all in January (about 66 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Parrsboro publishes no full year of snowfall, so these figures come from Waterville Cambridge, 47 km away.
Heating a home in Cumberland County, Subdivision A
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
The total grows by a degree for every degree a day’s mean sits under 18°C.
Living with Cumberland County, Subdivision A’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Wait until about 23 May to plant out; frost tends to come back around 2 October, about 131 days later.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Roughly 22 days a year feel colder than −20 in the wind.
Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 20 days a year.
A typical year is calm by definition; Cumberland County, Subdivision A’s hazards page covers the exceptions.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Parrsboro
ECCC builds the Parrsboro normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 8.8 km south-east |
| Station altitude | 24 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Waterville Cambridge, 47 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −31.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 31.4°C |
| Average wind | 10.0 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Nappan, 39 km |
How Cumberland County, Subdivision A compares
Placed among 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, each on its nearest normals location; each dot is another location used in Nova Scotia.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Cumberland County, Subdivision A’s would only repeat its figures. Distances here run 32–42 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Cumberland County, Subdivision A.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland County, Subdivision A Parrsboro | 23.1°C | −10.8°C | 1,247 mm |
| Springhill 32 km · Nappan | 24.3°C 1.2°C warmer | −11.7°C 0.9°C colder | 1,161 mm |
| Kings County, Subdivision B 35 km · Waterville Cambridge | 25.9°C 2.8°C warmer | −9.1°C 1.7°C milder | 1,216 mm |
Cumberland County, Subdivision A weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −0.8°C | −10.8°C | −5.8°C | 113 mm | 66 cm |
| February | −0.5°C | −10.5°C | −5.6°C | 84 mm | 50 cm |
| March | 3.0°C | −6.2°C | −1.6°C | 96 mm | 39 cm |
| April | 8.8°C | −0.9°C | 4.0°C | 105 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 15.1°C | 4.0°C | 9.6°C | 98 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 19.7°C | 8.5°C | 14.1°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23.1°C | 11.9°C | 17.5°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.1°C | 11.8°C | 17.5°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.3°C | 8.9°C | 14.1°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.7°C | 3.9°C | 8.8°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 7.9°C | −0.7°C | 3.6°C | 112 mm | 15 cm |
| December | 2.4°C | −6.2°C | −1.9°C | 136 mm | 49 cm |
| Year | 11.2°C | 1.1°C | 6.2°C | 1,247 mm | 232 cm |
February strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 2.2°C; August the least
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than January, between −31.5°C (1993) and 18.2°C (2018).
Where Cumberland County, Subdivision A’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Parrsboro, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Other locations: where a location publishes no full year of precipitation or snowfall, the nearest one that does supplies it, named beside those figures.
- Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
- Not on this page: hours of sunshine, missing from the 1991–2020 normals, and a height correction: the town has no elevation on file.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Cumberland County, Subdivision A’s climate
How warm does Cumberland County, Subdivision A get in summer?
Of all twelve months, July has the warmest afternoons, about 23.1°C.
How cold does Cumberland County, Subdivision A get in winter?
Of all twelve months, January has the coldest nights, about −10.8°C.
How much rain and snow does Cumberland County, Subdivision A get?
Over twelve months, rain and melted snow come to 1,247 mm; the range runs from 82 mm in August to 136 mm in December.
Are these figures for Cumberland County, Subdivision A itself?
Yes. Parrsboro, where ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals were measured, lies within Cumberland County, Subdivision A.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Cumberland County, Subdivision A →
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).