20-02-2025
On Today's Date: An Atlantic Canada Blizzard Named 'White Juan'
Canada's Maritime provinces can be slammed by legendary coastal storms much like the Northeast U.S.
From Feb. 18-20, 2004, 21 years ago this week, the Great Maritimes Blizzard hammered Atlantic Canada with heavy snow, high winds, blizzard conditions and storm surge flooding.
Hardest hit was Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and southeast New Brunswick where 2 to 3 feet of snow fell, accompanied at times by lightning. Halifax, Nova Scotia, picked up an incredible 34.8 inches of snow on Feb. 19, alone, its snowiest day on record in the metro area.
It wasn't just the snow. The storm rapidly intensified into a bomb cyclone by Feb. 19, then slowed its forward speed, producing high winds across the same areas getting crushed with heavy snow. Blizzard conditions lasted for up to 24 hours in Halifax, and road crews had to be pulled off duty during the peak of the storm. Drifts up to 9 feet were reported.
A four-day state of emergency and traffic curfew were issued to allow plows to clear roads clogged with feet of snow. Some city side streets were either reduced to one lane or blocked for days.
The storm became known as 'White Juan', because it struck less than five months after Hurricane Juan slammed into Nova Scotia with damaging winds and storm surge as the first hurricane to cross over Halifax since 1893.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
