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"Massive blizzard is headed for Nova Scotia on Tuesday...it's going to bring up to 50 cm of snow!"
The Atlantic region’s most famous weather forecaster, Frankie MacDonald, had been calling for snow— and his report, published last Friday, proved accurate. A Nor’Easter storm swept over the province Monday night into Tuesday, and overnight conditions went from virtually no snow cover to 41 cm by morning.
For those unfamiliar with MacDonald, he’s an autistic, amateur weatherman from Cape Breton, whose YouTube videos have propelled him to fame. His YouTube channel, "Dogsandwolves," has attracted more than 71,000 subscribers and he’s been featured in news stories across North America.
The same massive system swirling over Nova Scotia also impacted New Brunswick and Newfoundland, closing schools and businesses.
In contrast, Calgary — basking under the influence of Chinook winds — was expected to hit plus-16 Celsius Tuesday.
The wild swings in temperatures and massive storms are almost certainly a product of 2015-16’s powerful El Nino.
Over at its El Nino page, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) notes that snowfall along the northeast coast is typically above average during El Nino winters. Coastal regions can experience increased amounts by as much as 15 cm.
Of course, it can be all a matter of perspective.
The huge storm that enveloped the American East coast at the end of January led Massachusetts’ Gov. Charlie Baker to call the weather event a “top-five historic storm” in the New York Times. But some Canadians were underwhelmed by photos of snow south of the border. One reader, reacting to the news on Facebook, said: “In Newfoundland, we call that Wednesday.”
Social media users across the east coast reacted to the blizzard with good humour:
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