A drone’s-eye view of crews repairing a levee, north of the Cosumnes River, after it was breached by heavy rains and flooded Sacramento County roads and properties near Wilton, just southeast of Sacramento, on Jan. 2, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Fred Greaves)

Northern California deluge’s current rainfall level expected again

Flood risk to continue into next week

MarketsFarm — While the deluge of rain over northern California took a day’s break on Tuesday, agricultural meteorologist Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. said the heavy precipitation would soon resume. Following the worst drought in California history, the state has been receiving very intense precipitation that’s brought flooding to its northern areas. “It will […] Read more

Vehicles are shown wrecked along the Highway 401/402 corridor near London, Ont. on Dec. 23, 2022. (Ontario Provincial Police photo via Twitter)

Winter storm causes havoc across Canada

Alberta ranchers shelter cattle against winds

Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters — Strong winds, freezing rain and heavy snowfall closed schools, cut power to homes and cancelled flights across Canada on Friday as a powerful winter storm swept across the country, prompting authorities to warn people to stay indoors ahead of worsening conditions. The storm is connected to the same freezing weather system […] Read more


CBOT January 2023 soybeans with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans end higher with South America in focus

Wheat even; supplies from Black Sea region weigh against U.S. cold snap

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures added on Tuesday as traders watched South American weather, though prices could not break above resistance around US$15 a bushel. “We’re at a key level that’s stopped this market several times,” said Kristi Van Ahn-Kjeseth, chief operating officer at consulting firm Van Ahn and Co. “You get to […] Read more

Cows that were stranded in a flooded barn at Abbotsford, B.C. are rescued on Nov. 16, 2021 by people in boats and on a jet-ski after rainstorms lashed the province, triggering landslides and floods and shutting highways. (File photo: Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters)

Drought-stricken B.C. bracing for floods when rains return

Reuters — British Columbia on Thursday warned residents to prepare for flooding when rains eventually return after a prolonged drought exacerbated by climate change that has raised concerns about long-term damage to ecosystems ranging from glaciers to salmon rivers. The usually rainy western province has experienced weeks of record-breaking warm fall temperatures and minimal precipitation […] Read more


Photo: Getty Images

Heavy rain — where does all that water come from?

When a thunderstorm rolls in on a warm summer day, there’s an awful lot of water over your head

Reading Time: 3 minutes In the last issue we went into some detail on how thunderstorms develop, and how they can go from your average summer day thunderstorm to a severe thunderstorm. Thunderstorms can bring a wide variety of severe weather with them: heavy rains, hail, high winds, lightning, and, on some occasions, tornadoes. After an extended period of […] Read more

Photo: File

Alberta crops improve with rain 

MarketsFarm – Drought conditions that devastated crops in Alberta last year and were poised to do the same this year are becoming something in the past, according to the province’s latest crop report. Recent rainfall has been wiping out any notion of drought in 2022 as soil moisture conditions continued to improve across the province. […] Read more


AAFC’s Drought Monitor map at April 30, 2022. (Agriculture.canada.ca)

Drought gone in Manitoba but worsening in Alberta, AAFC reports

MarketsFarm — Record-breaking precipitation in southern Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan helped improve moisture conditions in the region in April, taking much of the area out of the drought classification, according to the latest Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) for the period ended April 30. Two separate Colorado lows brought significant snow, […] Read more

Spring runoff on April 27, 2022 at the Pembina Escarpment near Miami, Man., about 40 km northwest of Winkler. (Manitoba Co-operator/Allan Dawson video screengrab)

Flood warnings raised in Manitoba, southeastern Saskatchewan

Flows could reach 2009 levels in Manitoba

MarketsFarm — Spring flooding in Manitoba’s Red River Valley could approach levels last seen in 2009, the highest water level since 1997’s “Flood of the Century,” according to the latest update from the provincial Hydrologic Forecast Centre. The centre is monitoring a precipitation system forecast for the April 29-May 1 weekend that is expected to […] Read more


Drought conditions in Canada at Feb. 28, 2022. (Map courtesy Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

Most of Prairies still very dry, but recovery possible

Southern Manitoba considered out of drought

MarketsFarm — Despite the Prairies receiving above-normal amounts of precipitation during February, the great majority of the region remained highly vulnerable to more dryness going into spring, according to the Canadian Drought Monitor. The monitor’s latest report showed those areas of the Prairies tackling extreme drought to have retracted somewhat. As of Feb. 28, that […] Read more

CBOT March 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and dark green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn fall as fears of Black Sea disruption retreat

Soybeans down on chance of South America rain

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat and corn futures fell on Tuesday as Moscow’s announcement that some of its troops were returning to base after drills tempered investor fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine that could disrupt Black Sea export flows. U.S. soybeans fell as traders assessed chances for rain in […] Read more