Hardly any Canadian towns collect more precipitation than Mahone Bay: 1,561 mm a year
July afternoons average 25.5°C. In January, nights here are milder than in 67% of Canadian towns. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 36°C. Ice scrapers and block heaters earn their keep on roughly 162 days a year at 0°C or below.
Borrowed figures: Mahone Bay has no normals station, so these come from Bridgewater, 14 km west.
A year in Mahone Bay at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Mahone Bay’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia beside it.
What a year in Mahone Bay feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
162 frost days and 105 days above 20°C a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Some 5 nights a year drop under −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
1,561 mm of precipitation in a typical year
The most falls in December, the least in July. 2nd wettest of 91 towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia. Some 136 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 184 cm of snow a year
Snow falls from November to April, most of all in January (about 50 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Mahone Bay
89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Behind the figure: the degrees each day’s mean falls under 18°C, summed for the year. In heating terms, homes need less heating than 70% of Canadian towns.
Living with Mahone Bay’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Wait until about 26 May to plant out; frost tends to come back around 28 September, about 124 days later.
The outdoor season by the averages is Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep, with highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →What averages leave out, the floods and ice storms, is on Mahone Bay’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Bridgewater
Bridgewater is one of the 450 places where ECCC publishes 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 14 km west |
| Station altitude | 27 m |
| Completeness | at least 15 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −33.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.0°C |
| Next-nearest location | Western Head, 55 km |
How Mahone Bay 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
Places around Mahone Bay whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 51–68 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Mahone Bay.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mahone Bay Bridgewater | 25.5°C | −10.2°C | 1,561 mm |
| Liverpool 51 km · Western Head | 19.9°C 5.6°C cooler | −7.2°C 3.0°C milder | 1,561 mm |
| Annapolis County, Subdivision D 61 km · Greenwood | 26.2°C 0.7°C warmer | −9.8°C about the same | 1,137 mm |
| Windsor 64 km · Waterville Cambridge | 25.9°C about the same | −9.1°C 1.1°C milder | 1,216 mm |
| Halifax 68 km · Shearwater | 22.7°C 2.8°C cooler | −8.3°C 1.9°C milder | 1,414 mm |
Mahone Bay weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −0.1°C | −10.2°C | −5.2°C | 136 mm | 50 cm |
| February | 1.0°C | −9.3°C | −4.2°C | 115 mm | 47 cm |
| March | 4.9°C | −5.3°C | −0.2°C | 143 mm | 35 cm |
| April | 10.8°C | −0.2°C | 5.3°C | 121 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 16.8°C | 4.7°C | 10.7°C | 138 mm | under 1 cm |
| June | 22.2°C | 9.7°C | 15.9°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25.5°C | 13.3°C | 19.4°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.4°C | 13.2°C | 19.3°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.1°C | 9.0°C | 15.1°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14.4°C | 3.5°C | 9.0°C | 162 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 8.7°C | −0.2°C | 4.3°C | 160 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 3.3°C | −5.2°C | −1.0°C | 163 mm | 30 cm |
| Year | 12.8°C | 1.9°C | 7.4°C | 1,561 mm | 184 cm |
From year to year, January moves by 2.4°C, more than any month, and August least
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high since 1991. March spans the most, from −23.5°C (1993) to 28.5°C (2012).
Where Mahone Bay’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Bridgewater, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Comparisons: the 2,500-plus towns and neighbourhoods of Canada, each read from its closest normals location; whole cities and reserves aren’t counted.
- 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 Mahone Bay’s climate
How warm does Mahone Bay get in summer?
Highs reach 25.5°C on an average July day; no month is warmer.
How cold does Mahone Bay get in winter?
Expect nights around −10.2°C in January; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Mahone Bay get?
About 1,561 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. December is the wettest month (163 mm) and July the driest (87 mm).
Are these figures for Mahone Bay itself?
They are borrowed from Bridgewater, the nearest place to Mahone Bay where ECCC publishes 1991–2020 normals.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Mahone Bay →
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).