Prairie dryness and drought worsened markedly in May, amid below normal precipitation and above average temperatures.
The latest monthly update of the Canadian drought monitor showed 72% of Prairie agricultural lands impacted by abnormal dryness or some form of drought as of the end of last month. That is up sharply from 41% in April, 32% in March and 23% at the end of February.
Large areas in northern and eastern Alberta, central and southwestern Saskatchewan, and central and southeastern Manitoba received less than 60% of normal precipitation during the month, with some regions, including central Saskatchewan and parts of northwestern Alberta recording below 40%, the monitor said.
Central Saskatchewan saw ‘exceptionally low’ precipitation in May, with several locations recording less than 10 mm of precipitation, including La Ronge (2.6 mm), North Battleford (9.7 mm) and Prince Albert (2.0 mm). Meanwhile, temperatures were more than 3 degrees C above normal across much of Alberta, especially in the southwest and north.
But while much of the prairie region received below to well below normal precipitation, pockets of all three provinces also received above to well above normal precipitation including west-central, and northeast Alberta, southeastern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba.
“Overall, persistent heat and widespread deficits outweighed these exceptions, contributing to the intensification and expansion of drought across much of the region,” the monitor said.
As shown on the map below, a large area of extreme drought has emerged across central and northern Saskatchewan in the wake of prolonged heat, strong winds and limited spring precipitation. Low spring runoff and rapid soil moisture loss left many producers without sufficient water to refill dugouts and provide adequate soil moisture for young crops. In the northern agricultural region areas including Nipawin, Prince Albert, Hudson Bay, and Carrot River, precipitation since April has been especially low, with some areas receiving less below 20% of normal.
Alberta also experienced worsening and expanding drought conditions in May, especially in the northwest where large areas received less than 40% of normal precipitation. In southwestern Alberta, near-normal precipitation helped stabilize conditions, but it was insufficient to ease longer-term precipitation deficits and impacts, the monitor said.
As for Manitoba, southeastern, central, and northern parts of the province received less than 60% of normal precipitation in May. In contrast, southwestern and south-central Manitoba saw near to above normal precipitation, which helped improve soil moisture and refill surface water supplies.
