As Drew Lerner stood by his weather outlook for the strong likelihood of below normal rainfall and above normal temperatures this summer for the Canadian Prairies, along with the United States Midwest and Plains, he has now slightly moderated that long range forecast. About a month ago, the president of World Weather Inc. in Overland […] Read more
Weather forecaster tweaks outlook for Prairies, Midwest
The slow slide into drought
The current Prairie moisture situation is the result of years of ongoing precipitation deficits
Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – We had a fairly major storm system on the Prairies in late April, but it was not strong enough to warrant major attention. Manitoba received the most moisture from this system, with widespread 20 to 30 millimetres of rain mixed with snow. The northern half of agricultural Saskatchewan, along with the far […] Read more
Recent precipitation welcome, but more needed
Northern Alberta is particularly dry this spring, but even areas that are receiving rain have low soil moisture reserves
Reading Time: 3 minutes Even though all three Prairie provinces had snow or rain last winter and this spring, moving out of drought conditions is not necessarily a given. “We’ve seen near normal precipitation throughout most of Saskatchewan and well as southern Alberta and much of Manitoba,” said Trevor Hadwen, agroclimate specialist with Agriculture Canada. This precipitation occurred Sept. […] Read more
Prairie forecast: Cool and unsettled weather to continue
Forecast issued May 1, 2024, covering May 1-8
The weather and subsequent forecasts lately have been—to state it simply—a mess. A very active but difficult to forecast pattern has developed across much of Canada and the northern U.S. states. This has brought damp and cool weather to most regions of the Prairies and unfortunately, it looks like this weather will be sticking around at least until the weekend.
Seasonal outlook points to warmer Canadian weather
Warmer than normal temperatures are to be expected across most of Canada over the next three months, according to the latest long-range seasonal forecast from Environment and Climate Change Canada as of April 30.
Prairie forecast: Typical spring weather expected; not dry, not wet
Forecast issued April 24, 2024; covering: April 24 – May 1
It looks like this will be a good news, bad news forecast. For those of you hoping for rain, it may be good news. For those wanting things to dry out enough to get out working, it's a bit of bad news. The one thing, which is typical for spring forecasts, is that there's a fair bit of uncertainty.
Prairie forecast: Effects of Colorado low to bring widespread precipitation
Forecast issued April 16, covering April 16 to 25, 2024
We are putting out this week’s forecast a day earlier than usual, as the weather models now have a good handle on the predicted Colorado low and how it will impact the Prairies starting Tuesday. Here is what the weather models are predicting.
La Niña weather 60 per cent likely to develop from June-August, says US forecaster
A U.S. government weather forecaster expects an about 60 per cent chance of the La Niña weather pattern characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the Pacific Ocean emerging in the second half of 2024.
How to get the most out of canola crops when moisture is scarce
Is it possible to obtain more yield with less available moisture? You have a number of variables within your control
Reading Time: 4 minutes Trevor Hadwen says recent snowfall in many parts of the Prairies is welcome, but is a “drop in the bucket” when it comes to rebuilding soil moisture reserves. The agroclimate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s National Agroclimate Information Service in Regina says a lot of the winter precipitation to date has been lost to […] Read more
Prairie forecast: Spring has sprung but winter might not be done
Forecast issued April 10, 2024, covering April 10 to 17
Spring has definitely sprung across the prairies with only a few locations still having snow cover. Spring is a notorious time for forecasting as warm air builds to the south while cold air still sits to the north. That means this forecast period looks both easy and hard.
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
