More rain and snow fall on North End than on 95% of Canadian towns: 1,414 mm a year
January nights here settle around −8.3°C. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 94% of Canadian towns. The seasons are far apart: from a winter night to a summer afternoon the average spans 32°C. Ice scrapers and block heaters earn their keep on roughly 133 days a year at 0°C or below.
Borrowed figures: North End has no normals station, so these come from Shearwater, 7.8 km east.
A year in North End at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about North End’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia beside it.
What a year in North End feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
Frost on 133 days, 20°C on 82
Frost comes from October to April; in January almost every night freezes.
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
December brings the most rain and snow; August, the least. Some 124 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 215 cm in a normal year
The snow season runs November to May; January brings the most, 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), 26 km away.
Heating a home in North End
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. That means homes here need less heating than 71% of Canadian towns.
Living with North End’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
A normal year gives the garden about 181 frost-free days, roughly 30 April to 29 October.
The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Count on some 15 days a year when the wind makes it feel below −20.
Humid heat, a humidex over 30, comes on about 19 days a year.
For the weather that does damage, from ice storms to floods, see North End’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Shearwater
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Shearwater are 3 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 7.8 km east |
| Station altitude | 44 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Halifax Stanfield (Airport), 26 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), 26 km |
How North End 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on North End’s own would show the same figures). No closer places have figures: these lie 41–57 km from North End.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| North End Shearwater | 22.7°C | −8.3°C | 1,414 mm |
| Enfield 41 km · Halifax Stanfield (Airport) | 24.2°C 1.5°C warmer | −10.1°C 1.8°C colder | 1,393 mm |
| Chester 54 km · Bridgewater | 25.5°C 2.8°C warmer | −10.2°C 1.9°C colder | 1,561 mm |
| Windsor 56 km · Waterville Cambridge | 25.9°C 3.2°C warmer | −9.1°C 0.8°C colder | 1,216 mm |
| Stewiacke 57 km · Upper Stewiacke | 25.1°C 2.4°C warmer | −11.6°C 3.3°C colder | 1,277 mm |
North End 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 |
In March, anything from −19.1°C to 28.3°C
Two years in three, January’s average falls within 2.0°C of its normal of −4.1°C; August keeps to within 0.7°C.
Where North End’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Shearwater, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Other locations: a location missing months of precipitation or snow is filled from the nearest that has them all, never mixed month by month.
- Comparisons: Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500, each placed by its nearest location (city totals and reserves excluded).
- Not on this page: sunshine, not in ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals, and the effect of the town’s height, for which there is no figure.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about North End’s climate
How warm does North End get in summer?
Highs reach 23.3°C on an average August day; no month is warmer.
How cold does North End get in winter?
Expect nights around −8.3°C in January; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does North End get?
Rain and snow, with snow counted as water, total 1,414 mm a year; December leads with 156 mm and August trails with 94 mm.
Are these figures for North End itself?
No: North End has no normals location, so the figures come from Shearwater, the nearest with 1991–2020 normals.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for North End →
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).