Draft:History of Tornadoes in Nova Scotia

• Comment: We mayn't need to have a list with unknown or less notable tornadoes. Safari Scribe^{Edits! Talk!} 04:15, 23 September 2024 (UTC)

---

Nova Scotia is a Canadian province usually not associated with tornadoes, however, in Nova Scotia, tornadoes can and do occur. For example, an F1 tornado touched down in 1954, causing moderate damage on White Point Beach. More recently, two tornadoes touched down in 2021, an EF1 in Stewiacke, and an EF0 in Antrim. So regardless of how common they are, they are becoming an increasingly serious hazard in the province. There are also many reports more recently of funnel clouds and waterspouts, as they too are becoming more common.

Tornado List

This is a list of all probable or confirmed tornadoes and waterspouts ever recorded in Nova Scotia:

Date	Location	Rating	Damage	Notes	Time	Max. Wind Speed	Width	Track Start Coordinate
August 4, 1895	Bridgetown	FU	Snapped and uprooted many trees and threw them over long distances, broke windows, destroyed chimneys, leveled fences, tore off and carried the top story of a barn over a mile, with pieces of scantling being driven 3 feet into the ground, destroyed multiple barns and stables, and a house.			Estimated 211-274kph
January 31, 1954	White Point	F1	Destroyed a barn, snapped trees, and damaged cabins.		~11:40 p.m. AST	>155kph
July 18, 1955	Tidnish	F1	Windows broken, a boat thrown, power lines downed, outbuilding flipped.	Witnesses reported three waterspouts coming onshore as the event (leading to two more FU tornadoes in the tornado chart). Supposedly a child was thrown into a field.		Estimated 160kph
July 22, 1980	Roseway	F0	Carried a trailer for several meters, leaving it overturned, and uprooted trees.		11:20 a.m. AST	Estimated 135kph
August 16, 1980	Northport	F0			2:30 p.m. AST
June 24, 1997	Lantz	F0			5:15 p.m. AST			44°58'49.0"N 63°28'50.1"W
August 18, 1999	Pugwash	F0	Knocked over highway signs, ripped some siding off a building, ripped dining room from cafe, and scattered plastic chairs.					45°50'59.6"N 63°40'11.0"W
October 17, 2015	Southwest Coast	EFU		Waterspout.
August 7, 2016	Grand Mira South	EF0				105-137kph
July 24, 2019	Goffs	EFU		Probable touch-down from a Cold-air Funnel.
? September, 2019	Lawrencetown	EFU		Probable Tornadic Waterspout.	~2:00 p.m. AST			44°38'06.2"N 63°21'26.6"W
June 30, 2021	Stewiacke	EF1	Destroyed a barn, and snapped large branches off trees.	An EF0 microburst also caused tree damage in the area.	2:45 p.m. AST	>155kph	50m	45°07'55.2"N 63°21'24.1"W
July 22, 2021	Antrim	EF0			3:44 p.m. AST	90kph		44°57'36.0"N 63°22'48.0"W
August 2, 2023	Cheticamp	EFU		Two waterspouts.	Morning

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
3	4	2	0	0	0	0	9

Confirmed tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita rating

EFU	EF0	EF1	EF2	EF3	EF4	EF5	Total
5	2	1	0	0	0	0	8

Notable Tornadoes

Bridgetown-Clarence-Paradise

Bridgetown Tornado

Type	Tornado
Highest winds	131–170 mph (211–274 km/h)
Max. rating1	FU tornado
Areas affected	Annapolis County, Nova Scotia
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

On August 4, 1895, a powerful tornado hit the communities of Bridgetown, Clarence, and Paradise, Nova Scotia. The tornado destroyed several structures including a farm which the destruction of was well documented. The resident described the scene as a tornado ripping through his farm, throwing and twisting mature trees, destroying stables, barns, and their home. This tornado was likely to have been the most powerful to ever hit Nova Scotia. Based on new damage indicators in the Enhanced Fujita Scale, this tornado may have had winds speeds in the EF3 range.

White Point

White Point Beach Tornado

F1 tornado
Type	Tornado
Formed	~11:45PM AST
Highest winds	96 mph (154 km/h)
Max. rating1	F1 tornado
Areas affected	Queens Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

On January 31, 1954, a tornado touched down on White Point Beach in White Point, Nova Scotia at around 11:40PM AST. The tornado went on to damage cabins, snap many trees, and destroy a barn before becoming a tornadic waterspout for the remaining portion of its path. This tornado was rare given that not only did it touch down in Nova Scotia, but also in the warm sector of a winter storm, and at night. It was classed as a weather freak by meteorologists.

Pugwash Tornado

F0 tornado
Type	Tornado
Highest winds	65–85 mph (105–137 km/h)
Max. rating1	F0 tornado
Areas affected	Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

Pugwash

On August 18, 1999, a tornado touched down near Pugwash. It then crossed a body of water into Pugwash, causing no damage. The tornado then ripped the siding off a home, and then intensified and ripped the dining room from a restaurant. The tornado scattered chairs downwind, and knocked over highway signs. Although only rated F0, this tornado was well-known because it directly hit a town rather then occurring in a more rural area.

Stewiacke Tornado

EF1 tornado
Type	Tornado
Formed	~2:45PM AST
Highest winds	96 mph (154 km/h)
Max. rating1	EF1 tornado
Areas affected	Colchester County, Nova Scotia
1Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale

Stewiacke

On June 30, 2021, at approximately 2:45PM AST, the strongest tornado since the 1900's touched down on a farm in Stewiacke. The tornado traveled for a small distance doing some crop damage before intensifying and hitting a barn. The barn was destroyed, and debris was scattered well downwind as the tornado hit a max. width of 50 meters. The tornado meandered around a while more in the field before hitting a forested area, snapping large tree branches. The tornado dissipated, leaving a path of destruction behind. No one recorded a clear video of the tornado, leaving investigators believing it was a microburst that caused the wreckage. After more surveying they eventually came to the conclusion that an EF1 tornado had touched down on the property, with a max. wind speed of 155km/h(96m/h). This was the strongest tornado since at least 1955, when an F1 tornado wreaked havoc on the Tidnish Area in Cumberland County.