The 1926 Nova Scotia hurricane (also known as the 1926 Great August Gale) was one of the deadliest Canadian hurricanes in the 20th century. The second tropical cyclone and second hurricane of the season, the storm developed from a trough situated well east of the Leeward Islands on July 29. Over the next few days, it moved west-northwest, becoming a tropical storm by July 31. The cyclone turned to the northwest on August 1 and began strengthening rapidly, reaching hurricane intensity by the early afternoon. The next day, it became a major hurricane—equivalent to Category 3 intensity on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Over the next few days, the storm's track varied between north-northwest and northwest. Early on August 5, it peaked with winds of . The hurricane then began weakening as it curved northward. The storm began losing tropical characteristics while approaching Atlantic Canada, transitioning into an extratropical cyclone on August 8. The remnants soon made landfall near Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, with winds of , before being last noted over Newfoundland later that day.
The hurricane produced sustained winds of on Bermuda while passing about west of the island, but left minimal impact. In Atlantic Canada, the cyclone sank several ships and boats offshore Nova Scotia, including the schooners Sylvia Mosher and Sadie Knickle. A total of 55–58 deaths occurred, including at least 49 from those two ships crashing ashore Sable Island. On land, the storm downed trees and electrical poles in Nova Scotia, damaging some homes and leaving telephone service outages. Crops and fruit trees were also damaged. High winds interrupted telegraph communications in Newfoundland. Despite the number of fatalities, little was done to mitigate for a tropical cyclone prior to the hurricane in August 1927, which caused more than three times as many deaths.
Meteorological history
According to the Atlantic hurricane database, a trough situated more than east of the Leeward Islands developed into a tropical depression around 12:00 UTC on July 29. The cyclone initially moved west-northwestward and strengthened, becoming a tropical storm by 00:00 UTC on July 31. On August 1, the cyclone turned northwestward and began strengthening rapidly. Based on ship reports of hurricane force and near-hurricane-force winds, it estimated the storm intensified into a Category 1 hurricane by 18:00 UTC. Early on August 2, the system intensified into a Category 2 hurricane. At 12:00 UTC, the cyclone became a major hurricane—with winds of at least —equivalent to Category 3 intensity on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson scale. Around that time, a ship recorded a barometric pressure of – the lowest known pressure in association with the storm. However, no ships entered the eye of the hurricane and sampled the lowest pressure in the storm.
Over the next few days, the track of the hurricane varied between north-northwest and northwest. After becoming a Category 3 hurricane on August 2, the hurricane may have maintained sustained winds of for about three days, before wind increased slightly further to , an estimate made based on the pressure–wind relationship. It curved to the north and weakened to a Category 2 before passing about west of Bermuda on August 6. Around 00:00 UTC on August 8, the storm weakened into a Category 1 hurricane and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone about six hours later. Shortly before 12:00 UTC, the extratropical remnants of the hurricane made landfall near Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, with winds of , and continued northeastward until being last noted over southwestern Newfoundland around 18:00 UTC.
Preparations
Due to the possibility of gale-force winds occurring just offshore Maine, storm warnings were issued between Portland and Eastport. Shipping ahead of the hurricane received repeated warnings broadcast by both American and Canadian weather officials. However, the majority of fishing vessels in Atlantic Canada in this period did not have radios, leaving the large fishing fleet on the offshore banks unaware of the approaching disaster.