Abnormal dryness and drought were little changed across Western Canada in November, a month that typically brings relatively little relief anyway.
The latest monthly update of the Canadian drought monitor shows abnormal dryness or some form of drought impacting 71% of Prairie agricultural lands as of the end of November. That’s up slightly from 68% in October and 64% in September.
“The Prairies typically receive limited precipitation in November, therefore the chance of significant changes in drought is limited,” the monitor said.
In general, November was warmer than average across the Prairies, with temperatures 4 to 5 degrees Celsius above normal in the northwest and along the southern foothills. Below normal precipitation was recorded throughout northern Alberta, eastern Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
A major snowfall event in late November delivered up to 20 cm across parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, while Manitoba received no major storms, remaining mostly snow-free until late in the month.
In Alberta, central regions saw modest improvement with the reduction of severe drought and removal of the extreme drought near Lloydminster. Northeastern Alberta continued to see improvements, with reductions in moderate and severe drought.
On the other hand, much of northwestern Alberta saw worsening conditions, with expansion of severe and extreme drought.
Southern Saskatchewan received variable precipitation with much of the region receiving 60 to 115% of normal precipitation. Things slightly worsened in the southwest, with expansion of moderate drought, while the province’s central areas saw the expansion of severe and extreme drought from La Ronge east toward Flinn Flon.
Southern Manitoba received extremely low precipitation with large areas receiving less than 40% of normal. However, most regions did not worsen markedly due to wet conditions in previous months, the monitor said.
