supported the Citadel Hill defensive works. Dartmouth is clustered on the eastern side of the harbour directly opposite the Halifax peninsula, its defining geographic feature being a series of glacial lakes. Suburban growth around both cities included many existing mining (east of Dartmouth and the Shubenacadie Valley), farming (in the Musquodoboit Valley and northwest of Halifax) and fishing (along the shores of the harbours and the Atlantic coast south of both former cities) communities. The population centre itself covers an area of . Climate Halifax is marked by a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), but the area climate is heavily influenced by water temperatures in the adjacent Atlantic Ocean. Numerous local microclimates make weather somewhat unpredictable but the region is generally milder than inland areas having a continental climate (e.g. central Canada); HRM air temperatures average between -5 °C (23 °F) in January and 19 °C (66 °F) in July. Snow falls and melts alternately mainly from November through April, for a seasonal total of . Some, but usually very little, snow falls in May and October. Halifax usually experiences several strong winter storms. In February 2004 a record of of snow fell in one such storm. The storm was nicknamed "White Juan", after the recent Hurricane Juan. Spring is cool and foggy, early autumn is often sunny and warm, and summer can range from hot and dry to cool and rainy. Hurricanes are fairly uncommon but do occur occasionally. There can be considerable variations between the weather near the Atlantic Ocean and the weather even several kilometres inland. This is partly caused by the effect of the Labrador Current, which transfers cold water from the Arctic along Nova Scotia's Atlantic coast in the spring and summer, while the Gulf Stream brings warmer water from the Gulf of Mexico along the coast during the fall and winter. Precipitation stands at nearly annually, and is somewhat heavy year-round, though summer is drier. The Halifax Regional Municipality is home to 6 weather stations operated by the Meteorological Service of Canada: Halifax International Airport Buoy 44258 Halifax Harbour CFB Shearwater McNabs Island Sable Island Beaver Island Malay Falls Notes References