A massive relief for many farmers across the Prairies, recent heavy rainfall still managed to miss one particular area.
As can be seen on the rainfall map below, much of the Peace River District was left mostly dry, even as locations farther south were deluged with record-setting daily amounts in some cases. A report Wednesday from World Weather noted the disparity, with most areas now having adequate to locally surplus topsoil moisture, except the Peace region where topsoil moisture is still mostly rated short to very short.
The Canadian drought monitor showed much of the Peace region impacted by some form of drought as of the end of March, with as little as 50% of normal precipitation falling since September 2023.
Although this week saw some of the heaviest accumulations, the World Weather report said waves of snow and rain going back over the past 15 days have brought more than 4 inches of desperately needed precipitation to much of the Prairies.
“If timely rain continues this spring, establishment and early-season crop development should get off to an aggressive start. The only exception is the Peace River region in northwestern Alberta, where significant rain is needed to support better long-term development conditions,” World Weather said.
More Prairie rainfall is in the forecast for later this weekend and into early next week, which will further augment soil moisture levels, but also further delay planting.
Meanwhile, the Weather Network said its extended outlook does suggest the potential for the Peace region and other more northern locations to start getting much-needed relief late next week and beyond.
