The snowstorm that's currently pounding Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada is ferocious, and drawing comparisons to previous crippling storms — most notably 2004's "White Juan."
White Juan, for those who don't remember, dropped 88.5 centimetres of snow on Halifax on Feb. 19, 2004, nearly doubling its previous record for a single day. Halifax became the biggest city in the world at the time to receive so much snow in one day.
People spent days digging out from the storm and fierce winds gusting up to 124 kilometres per hour knocked out power to much of Halifax. There was so much snow that the city implemented a 10 p.m. curfew to allow for snow removal. It also sought permission from the federal government to dump to snow into the Halifax Harbour.
While today's blizzard isn't supposed to see quite so much snow — Environment Canada is forecasting the western part of the province will be hit hardest with 30-60 centimetres — the storm has prompted school and office closures, as well as a shut down of transit, ferries and other municipal and provincial services.
Halifax Weather, a local weather service, says there are some similarities between the 2004 storm and what's happening in Halifax today.
"The wind, and 'slowness' (duration) of this storm will be similar to White Juan... as well as the central pressure of the rapidly intensifying Nor'easter," the service posted to Facebook Sunday afternoon.
Here are some pictures comparing the havoc that White Juan wreaked in Halifax 13 years ago versus the storm slamming the city today:
Environment Canada meteorologist Tracey Talbot said winds were gusting to 110 kilometres per hour in Osborne Head, just outside of Halifax, and up to 20 centimetres of snow had already fallen in Halifax by mid-morning Monday.
"With the reduced visibilities and the heavy snow and the strong winds, it's a pretty intense storm," she said. "This is definitely a very intense storm for this winter and even for last winter."
Martimers flocked to social media to share their photos and videos of the snow.
With files from The Canadian Press
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