Precipitation in Upper Tantallon tops that of 95% of Canadian towns: 1,414 mm a year
On a normal July day the thermometer tops out near 22.7°C. Winter and summer sit 32°C apart. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 94% of Canadian towns. Homes need heating from November to May, the months averaging under 10°C.
No ECCC station in Upper Tantallon has 1991–2020 normals; the page reads Shearwater, 32 km east, instead.
A year in Upper Tantallon at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Upper Tantallon’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia beside it.
What a year in Upper Tantallon 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
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
Rain and melted snow: about 1,414 mm a year
December is the wettest month and August the driest. About 124 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 215 cm in a normal year
Snow falls from November to May, most of all in January (about 54 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Snowfall: Halifax Stanfield (Airport), 35 km away (Shearwater records no complete year of it).
Heating a home in Upper Tantallon
88% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: November to May.
A day averaging 10 degrees under 18°C adds 10 to the total; warm days add nothing. Over a year, a home here needs less heating than 71% of Canadian towns.
Living with Upper Tantallon’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
The frost-free stretch runs from about 30 April to about 29 October, some 181 days in a normal year.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Bitter wind chill, under −20, comes on about 15 days a year.
Plan shade and water for about 19 days a year above 30 on the humidex.
For blizzards, floods and wildfire, turn to Upper Tantallon’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 | 32 km east |
| Station altitude | 44 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Halifax Stanfield (Airport), 35 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), 35 km |
How Upper Tantallon compares
Against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from its own normals location; the dots are the other locations those towns use in Nova Scotia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Upper Tantallon whose figures come from another normals location. The nearest places to Upper Tantallon with figures are 34–50 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Tantallon Shearwater | 22.7°C | −8.3°C | 1,414 mm |
| Chester 34 km · Bridgewater | 25.5°C 2.8°C warmer | −10.2°C 1.9°C colder | 1,561 mm |
| Windsor 36 km · Waterville Cambridge | 25.9°C 3.2°C warmer | −9.1°C 0.8°C colder | 1,216 mm |
| Enfield 41 km · Halifax Stanfield (Airport) | 24.2°C 1.5°C warmer | −10.1°C 1.8°C colder | 1,393 mm |
Upper Tantallon weather by month
Month by month, 1991–2020: the usual high, low and mean, the rain and snow, and the 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 |
March has run from −19.1°C to 28.3°C in thirty years
The month to count on least is January: one year in three its average strays more than 2.0°C from −4.1°C. August moves least, typically by 0.7°C.
Where Upper Tantallon’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: 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: sunshine, absent from every 1991–2020 location, and an altitude correction, for want of the town’s own elevation.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Upper Tantallon’s climate
How warm does Upper Tantallon get in summer?
At its warmest, in August, the normal high is 23.3°C.
How cold does Upper Tantallon get in winter?
The year’s coldest nights belong to January, at about −8.3°C.
How much rain and snow does Upper Tantallon get?
Rain and snow add up to about 1,414 mm of water a year; December brings the most (156 mm), August the least (94 mm).
Are these figures for Upper Tantallon itself?
Only indirectly: the readings are made at Shearwater, outside Upper Tantallon.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Upper Tantallon →
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).