Who has seen the wind? A natural history of storm winds in Nova Scotia, 1957-2024

Abstract

The natural history of storm winds is described for Nova Scotia from the late 1950s to 2024. The overall pattern was a decline from greater storm frequency and intensity in the 1960s to minimal levels 2000-2011, and a subsequent return to levels experienced in the 1970s and 1980s. Patterns were consistent in five wind metrics: (1) maximum provincial wind gust; (2) mean of annual wind maximum from the five sites;
(3) annual mean of monthly maxima; (4) number of storm days (i.e., wind ≥ 75 km h^-1); and (5) number of months per year with maximum wind ≥ 75 km h^-1). Linear regression equations were significant in both the declining and increasing years. These results are consistent with continent-wide wind stilling and recovery. Despite significant temperature increases since 1998 and an increase in wind metrics since the early 2000s, the overall relationship between wind and tempera-
ture since the 1950s has been negative. These results are discussed in light of oceanographic events including periods of La Niña, Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, and the development of ocean hotspots. Increasing winter temperatures and winds are predicted to have a negative effect on plant communities along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia.

Keywords: Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, climate change, ocean hotspots, storms, wind stilling