Reading Time: 3 minutes Psychologically, May might have felt cool — especially compared to the extremely warm start Alberta has seen this year. But overall, May was still warmer than average. This makes it the eighth month in a row with above-average temperatures in all three of our main regions (Peace River, Edmonton, and Calgary). For those of you who […] Read more
The global weather scene is heating up like never before
April was the 12th month in a row where the all-time monthly temperature record was broken
How to use the Prairie Climate Atlas
Reading Time: < 1 minute To use the atlas, go to climateatlas.ca and once the intro is done, click on the thermometer icon on the left-hand side of the page to bring up a map of the Prairies. Then click on Communities at the top of the page; select Municipal Zones from the drop-down menu; and use your cursor and […] Read more
Cool conditions see slow emergence, seeding nears completion
Alberta crop conditions as of May 31
Reading Time: < 1 minute Cool conditions prevailed over the week. Precipitation was reported in all regions in the amount of 10 – 20 mm with the North East Region receiving between 30 – 50 mm. Seeding progress is nearing completion at 97 per cent seeded compared to last year at 99 per cent, the 5 year average of 96 […] Read more
Widely greeted rainfall delays seeding progress
Alberta crop conditions as of May 24
Reading Time: 2 minutes While wet conditions due to rainfall this past long weekend delayed seeding progress and cold damp weather slowed crop development, the much needed rain was welcome across the province. The moisture has been good for all crop, hay and pasture fields. Crops that haven’t germinated as yet, now have the moisture to get a good […] Read more
Warm spring weather seeding interrupted by frost
Alberta crop conditions as of May 17
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry – Unusually warm spring weather was interrupted by a brief frost which descended across most of the province, with the coldest temperatures occurring on May 13, 2016. Generally, the irrigated crops are looking good, dry land crops are in need of moisture and pasture and tame hay are under stress due […] Read more
The heat’s been on for months — and there’s no end in sight
You could almost say winter ended three months ago, and the long-range forecasts are for more hot, dry weather
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s been a rather remarkable spring across Alberta this year. Looking back at the weather records for 2016 you could almost say that spring arrived in February, with temperatures running over 6° above long-term averages. Those mild temperatures continued into March, with mean temperatures that were around 5 degrees above average. The big question after such […] Read more
An early spring may lead to an early start to thunderstorm season
These awe-inspiring storms are associated with hot, humid days — but they can form under other conditions, too
Reading Time: 3 minutes With a pretty warm first half of April across Alberta I won’t be surprised if we end up seeing an early start to thunderstorm season. So I figured that maybe we should have an early start to my annual look at thunderstorms. To begin with, we’ll need to talk about one of my weather pet peeves, […] Read more
Alberta acres need one good soaking rain
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
A big-picture look at why this winter was so unusually warm
An ongoing battle between a western ridge and eastern trough explains why Alberta has been warmer than average for so long
Reading Time: 3 minutes No matter which way you look at it, winter is over across agricultural Alberta — and it was definitely a warm one. While it won’t go down in the record books, Alberta’s been in a persistently long warm spell with seven consecutive months of above-average temperatures recorded at all three of the main locations. Winter […] Read more
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
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
