The number of unseeded acres isn’t pretty

Reading Time: < 1 minute Even with a run of perfect weather, many northern producers are unlikely to finish seeding all their acres. As of May 23, (the last crop report before press time) just 57 per cent of seeding was complete province-wide versus the five-year average of 83 per cent. The north has particularly struggled with getting seed in […] Read more

Seeding well behind five year average, crop stages behind normal

Alberta crop conditions as of May 30

Reading Time: < 1 minute Seeding progress in the province has reached 79 per cent complete, up 22 percentage points on the week, but well behind the five-year average of 97 per cent. A weather front early in the reporting period brought strong winds and varying amounts of rain to the North West and North East regions, reaching into the […] Read more


Seeding progress spikes in Alberta, farmers 57 per cent complete

Alberta crop conditions as of May 23

Reading Time: 2 minutes In most parts of the province, weather conditions over the last week were favourable for the harvesting of crops left over from 2016 as well as the seeding of new crops for 2017. Showers and rainfall over the last week occurred mainly in the western parts of the province. Provincially, seeding progress was up by […] Read more

This time I thought I'd take a break from precipitation maps. These temperature graphs for Red Deer (chosen because it is the most central location in Alberta) show the daily maximum and minimum temperatures along with the departure from average for the last 365 days (ending on May 13). Looking at the pattern in the centre graph, it will be interesting to see what the next month might hold in store for Alberta. Will we continue to see a shorter and less pronounced warm spell? Or will we see a rebound since the last below-average period was less intense than the previous ones?

Cooking up thunderstorms with Mother Nature

Severe thunderstorms are a fascinating phenomena and you need 
the right conditions to come together

Reading Time: 4 minutes Thunderstorm season isn’t too far off so we’ll continue our annual look at what is arguably one of the most fascinating weather phenomena we see in our part of the world. I always like to begin our look at thunderstorms by touching upon one of my biggest weather pet peeves, which is when people mix […] Read more


Rain hinders seeding progress, slows harvest of over-wintered crops

Alberta crop conditions as of May 16

Reading Time: 2 minutes Over the last week, another major weather system swept across the province, bringing more rain (10-50 mm) to the Regions. Affected areas that are currently too wet are experiencing delays in seeding progress, as well as in the harvesting of overwintered crops. However, in the Southern and Central Regions, the weather has cooperated, allowing for […] Read more

Seeding underway in all regions, good progress on 2016 crops

Alberta crop conditions as of May 9

Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta experienced another week of favourable weather which further enhanced soil drying. Temperatures were generally above average and although showers were prevalent late in the reporting period, amounts were small. Saturated soils throughout the North East, North West and Peace regions continue to hamper field operations. Seeding is underway in all regions. Seeding progress has […] Read more


This map shows the total amount of precipitation as a departure from the long-term average for the 30-day period ending on April 27. Nearly all of Alberta saw above-average amounts during this period, with only a small pocket in the south and far north seeing below-average amounts. The driest region during this period was in south-central Saskatchewan along with western and extreme southern parts of Manitoba.

April didn’t bring much joy — and Alberta had the worst of it

Statistically, it wasn’t absolutely miserable but a dry stretch and a 
return to average temperatures would be most welcome this spring


Reading Time: 3 minutes Another month has come and gone, and depending on where you live it was either a near-average April or you were cold and wet. Listening to the general talk about April’s weather, you would probably come to the conclusion that most areas across the Prairies had a miserable month. But in reality, most places experienced […] Read more

This map shows pasture soil moisture levels as of the end of March compared to the long-term average. A large part of Alberta has near- to slightly above-average amounts of soil moisture. Parts of the Peace River and northern regions are going into the spring with well-above-average amounts.

Weather school is back in session — here are the basics of thunderstorms

How does solar energy result in thunderstorms? 
The answer lies with conduction, convection, and latent heat

Reading Time: 3 minutes With temperatures slowly starting to heat up across the Prairies, thoughts turn towards summer and summer weather, and in my case, I begin thinking about thunderstorms. After a very active summer last year, I thought it might be time to look at this topic again. I also thought it would be a good idea to take […] Read more


Cool temps make for a slow start to seeding in Alberta

Alberta crop conditions as of May 2

Reading Time: < 1 minute Seeding is off to a slow start due to the cool April temperatures experienced throughout the province. In the South, soils have been slow to warm while in the remainder of the province, the cool temperatures slowed the dry down of already saturated soils caused by the wet conditions experienced last fall. Currently, six per […] Read more