Historic flooding hits Nova Scotia amid torrential downpours
This weather event appears to be heaviest rainfall in Halifax area since Hurricane Beth in 1971
Nova Scotia is experiencing a historic flooding event as significant rainfall sweeps the province this weekend.
The heaviest rain has fallen across an area which stretches from near Liverpool in Queens County on the South Shore, through Lunenburg County, then across to northwest Halifax County and into Hants County.
Preliminary numbers show rainfall totals in this area ranging from 150-250+ millimetres of rain as of 6 a.m. AT Saturday.
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Some folks in these areas, especially near Bedford, Sackville and Windsor, picked up much of that rain in just five to seven hours.
As a result, rivers and streams are overflowing and numerous road washouts are being reported by the Department of Public Works.
The rain continues
Unfortunately, it's not finished yet.
Tropical moisture will continue to stream into the province from the south throughout the day.
Rainfall warnings remain in effect for the Atlantic coastline, including Halifax, as well as Hants County, Kings County and Colchester County.
Additional rainfall amounts in the 50 to 100-millimetre range are possible throughout the day, with even higher amounts possible locally due to more downpours and thunderstorms in this tropical setup.
The rain will finally begin to clear from western areas through Saturday afternoon and then central areas through the evening.
Past events
The most recent similar event occurred in Ingonish, Victoria County, in November 2021, when a rain and wind storm washed out several roads and bridges.
Before that, on Thanksgiving Day in 2014, Sydney experienced serious flooding, which forced dozens of homes to be evacuated.
But this appears to be the heaviest rainfall event to hit the Halifax area since Hurricane Beth in 1971.
That storm dropped 266 millimetres of rain at the Halifax airport and 238 millimetres at Shearwater.