He was son of Aaron Nodal (1798–1855), of the Society of Friends, a grocer and member of the Manchester town council.
Born in Downing Street, Ardwick, Manchester, on 19 September 1831, he was educated at Ackworth School, Yorkshire (1841–5).
For thirty-three years (1871–1904) he was editor of the Manchester City News, which became the recognised organ of the literary and scientific societies of Lancashire.
When the headquarters of the English Dialect Society were moved in 1874 from Cambridge to Manchester, Nodal became honorary secretary and director.
His other works include: He died at the Grange, Heaton Moor, near Manchester, on 13 November 1909, and was interred at the Friends' burial-ground, Ashton-on-Mersey.