More rain and snow fall on Bedford than on 95% of Canadian towns: 1,414 mm a year
In January the night’s low is typically −8.3°C. The wettest month is December; the driest is August. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 94% of Canadian towns. Plan for rain or snow on about 124 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
ECCC publishes no normals for Bedford itself; the figures are those of Shearwater, 17 km south-east.
A year in Bedford at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Bedford’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia beside it.
What a year in Bedford feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
133 frost days and 82 days above 20°C a year
From October to April frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
1,414 mm of precipitation in a typical year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
215 cm of snow in a typical year
From November to May snow is likely; January is the peak, at about 54 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Shearwater publishes no full year of snowfall, so these figures come from Halifax Stanfield (Airport), 23 km away.
Heating a home in Bedford
88% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: November to May.
Each day the mean sits under 18°C adds its shortfall; a year’s total is its heating degree days. A house here needs less heating than 71% of Canadian towns.
Living with Bedford’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
On average the last spring frost comes around 30 April and the first autumn frost around 29 October: about 181 frost-free days between.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →On some 15 days a year the wind chill drops past −20; mitts and a scarf earn their place.
Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 19 days a year.
A normal year has no blizzard, flood or heat wave in it; Bedford’s hazards page looks at those.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Shearwater
Shearwater is a composite: ECCC joins 3 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 17 km south-east |
| Station altitude | 44 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Halifax Stanfield (Airport), 23 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −26.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 34.3°C |
| Average wind | 14.3 km/h on average, most often from the north-west |
| Next-nearest location | Halifax Stanfield (Airport), 23 km |
How Bedford compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Nova Scotia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Bedford whose figures come from another normals location.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Shearwater | 22.7°C | −8.3°C | 1,414 mm |
| Clayton Park West 5.0 km · Shearwater | 22.7°C about the same | −8.3°C about the same | 1,414 mm |
| Lower Sackville 5.7 km · Halifax Stanfield (Airport) | 24.2°C 1.5°C warmer | −10.1°C 1.8°C colder | 1,393 mm |
Bedford weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.2°C | −8.3°C | −4.1°C | 124 mm | 54 cm |
| February | 0.6°C | −7.9°C | −3.7°C | 114 mm | 44 cm |
| March | 3.7°C | −4.3°C | −0.3°C | 120 mm | 34 cm |
| April | 8.6°C | 0.4°C | 4.5°C | 108 mm | 17 cm |
| May | 14.0°C | 5.0°C | 9.5°C | 115 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 18.9°C | 9.9°C | 14.4°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 22.7°C | 14.3°C | 18.5°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.3°C | 14.7°C | 19.1°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20.1°C | 11.3°C | 15.8°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14.2°C | 6.2°C | 10.2°C | 141 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8.6°C | 1.3°C | 5.0°C | 135 mm | 19 cm |
| December | 3.6°C | −3.9°C | −0.2°C | 156 mm | 44 cm |
| Year | 11.6°C | 3.2°C | 7.4°C | 1,414 mm | 215 cm |
A March here can run from −19.1°C to 28.3°C
January is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 2.0°C of the normal, −4.1°C. August is the steadiest, within 0.7°C.
Where Bedford’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals, Shearwater, 1991–2020.
- Other locations: ECCC blanks a month that fails its completeness rule, so the precipitation or snowfall here comes from the next location with all twelve months.
- Comparisons: every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 or more, each read from its own nearest location; city totals and reserves are left out.
- 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 Bedford’s climate
How warm does Bedford get in summer?
Expect highs near 23.3°C in August, the hottest month on average.
How cold does Bedford get in winter?
The coldest nights come in January, averaging −8.3°C.
How much rain and snow does Bedford get?
Count on roughly 1,414 mm a year, heaviest in December (156 mm) and lightest in August (94 mm).
Are these figures for Bedford itself?
The figures are ECCC’s for Shearwater; Bedford has no normals station.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Bedford →
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).