If you lived in Nova Scotia at the time, you probably remember the May snowstorm of 1972.
I mentioned the infamous late-spring snow one day last week and stories started to pour in, so I thought I would share a few of them with you.
Sharon Baxter:
“It was convocation weekend at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S. and my husband was graduating with his M. Div. degree. His parents had driven down from Ontario to attend the convocation, and you can imagine the stir that was created when this snowstorm arrived in the midst of all the celebrations. My father-in-law made a sign with the date on it and sat it in the snow on the hood of his car and took a photo (black and white) of it to show his friends and family back in Ontario. I don't have a copy of that photo, but I can still see it in my mind's eye and remember how much that snowstorm added to our memories of that special time in our lives. Thanks for letting me share!
Kathy Fleet:
May 10, 1972 brought a beautiful bouncing 9 lb 3 oz baby boy in the middle of a raging snowstorm. Thankfully, I made it to the hospital in the morning before the snow started and Stephen was born at 4:34 that afternoon. Hospital staff had a difficult time getting to work that day. My grandmother always saved some May snow and claimed it was good for your eyes.
Lindsay Hood:
Remember that storm well. My parents took my two grandmothers to Halifax for my brother's university graduation and hit the storm head-on and we ended up getting buried here in Sydney.
Katherine Murray:
On May 10, 1972, there were eight inches of snow in Scotsburn, Nova Scotia. My mother kept a diary; farm wives did that.
Lynda MacLellan:
I was visiting my cousin and her husband in England. Cherry blossoms and spring flowers were in bloom. We were at a social gathering and met a couple who had just arrived from Canada. They told us that their plane had been grounded in Gander because of this storm.
Debbie Edwards Greenough:
I remember my son going to a birthday party on a bicycle and we had to pick him up because of the snow lol.
Frances Meehan:
We were living in Gander, N.L. and attended a dance at Sgt. Mess, came out at midnight to knee-length snow.
How much snow was there? Too much for May! Halifax banked the most snow that day with a whopping 27 cm; Sydney followed closely behind with 25 cm. Parts of the Annapolis Valley were shovelling out from under close to 20 cm that day.
That same storm brought snow to Newfoundland and Labrador, but the totals were not quite as impressive: 14 cm for St. John’s and 12 cm for Corner Brook.
Still, more than most would expect on May 10. In New Brunswick and across Prince Edward Island, residents were spared; there was not even enough snow to whiten the ground. Sometimes, Mother Nature plays favourites.
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Cindy Day is the chief meteorologist for SaltWire Network
