Reading Time: < 1 minute Although over-winter precipitation accumulations were well below normal across most of Alberta, total over-winter precipitation deficits do not exceed 70 millimetres, even in the driest areas. “From a cropping perspective, these shortfalls can effectively be eased by one good soaking rain, or a few large spring snowstorms,” says Ralph Wright of Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. […] Read more
Alberta acres need one good soaking rain
Could this be one of the warmest springs on record?
AccuWeather is forecasting an exceptionally warm and dry spring — and it has good reasons for making such a bold prediction
Reading Time: 3 minutes AccuWeather came out early in February with its spring weather prediction, so I figured that maybe I should join in and take a look at what the different forecasters are calling for this spring. After all, meteorological spring starts on the first day of March (March-April-May). In what I think is a pretty bold move, AccuWeather […] Read more
Drought watch kept on Alberta, early spring expected
CNS Canada — Above-average temperatures and limited precipitation could mean parts of the Prairies will struggle with soil moisture heading into the spring, according to one specialist. “The soil moisture that we have in the ground right now is similar to what we went into the winter with,” said Trevor Hadwen, agroclimate specialist with Agriculture […] Read more
Soil moisture in Alberta improves after wet fall
Reading Time: < 1 minute Late-October rains caused harvest delays for many, but the three to five millimetres were near to below average. And in most areas south of Red Deer, conditions were quite dry over the first two months of fall. Most areas in the province experienced at least near-normal accumulations of precipitation during September and October, although some […] Read more
The latest winter outlook and more on cold weather precipitation
October was a pleasant change from September, but will the warmer-than-average weather continue for the rest of the year?
Reading Time: 3 minutes In my last article I said that we’d continue our discussion on cold weather precipitation. But before diving into that icy topic, I want to take a look at the weather so far this fall and see if the long-range winter forecasts have changed. After experiencing a cooler- and wetter-than-average September across pretty much all of agricultural […] Read more
The (super) cool lowdown on how snow is formed
Snow will soon begin to fall but a lot has to happen before clouds are ready to produce the white stuff
Reading Time: 3 minutes As we slowly work our way towards winter I thought it might be time to begin our look at the sometimes dreaded ‘S word’ — snow. Instead of just jumping straight into a discussion about snow I think we’ll take a bit of a slower approach that will hopefully help lessen the pain for some […] Read more
Why does El Niño have such a big impact on our weather?
It’s all about heat and the atmosphere’s aversion to imbalances when it comes to hot and cold
Reading Time: 4 minutes A few weeks ago while waiting for a triathlon to start, a thunderstorm rolled through the region forcing everyone to run for shelter. While listening to people talk during the storm I overheard a weather-related idea or story that I’ve actually been mulling in my head for a while now, but I still haven’t figured […] Read more
Cooler temperatures, precipitation in store for Prairies
CNS Canada — Alberta crops could be put at risk during the last week of September due to cooler weather, but for the most part, a U.S. meteorologist expects average to slightly above-average temperatures for the Prairies during harvest. Farmers will need to monitor temperatures during the last 10 days of September, as there will […] Read more
What’s happening above when it comes down in buckets all day long
It’s been a dry spring, but we’re moving into the time of year when heavy rainfall events occur more frequently
Reading Time: 3 minutes So far this spring, a good portion of Alberta and Saskatchewan has not seen any heavy rainfall events. If you check out the map above you’ll see the large red and amber areas that represent rainfall amounts that are 60 per cent of average or less. Hopefully, my writing about heavy rainfall won’t put a jinx […] Read more
Guenther: Rain drops in on NW Sask.
Farmers and ranchers in northwestern Saskatchewan received much-needed rain late last week and over the weekend. Tom Brown raises cattle and is a crop reporter for Saskatchewan Agriculture and the reeve for the Rural Municipality of Mervin. His farm at Turtleford, about 80 km east of Lloydminster, received 11 mm of rain on Thursday night, […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
