Despite heavy deluges and flooding in some locations, dryness and drought worsened across the Prairies in August.
The latest monthly update of the Canadian drought monitor shows 35% of Prairie agricultural lands were being impacted by abnormal dryness or some form of drought as of the end of August, up sharply from 10% at the end of July. In June, just 3% of agricultural lands were considered abnormally dry, and none were officially in drought.
Precipitation was highly variable across the region during August. Southeastern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba were hit by two major rainfall events, from Aug. 13 to 15 and again Aug. 30 to 31, pushing monthly totals to more than double normal in some areas and adding to already saturated soils. Northwestern, southwestern and central Alberta, along with central Saskatchewan, also received above-normal rainfall. However, much of Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan, northeastern Alberta and parts of southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan were notably dry, the monitor said. Northern Manitoba received less than 50% of normal August precipitation, worsening longer-term moisture deficits.
Dry weather was particularly persistent in southeastern Alberta and southwestern and south-central Saskatchewan, where soils dried rapidly throughout the month. Even so, most of Alberta still recorded above-normal precipitation for the summer as a whole, with central areas receiving especially large amounts, including record-breaking totals around Edmonton. Southern Saskatchewan and much of southern Manitoba received near- to above-normal seasonal precipitation, the monitor said.
Drought conditions expanded most sharply in northern and southeastern Manitoba (see map below), where exceptionally low August rainfall compounded a dry summer. Moderate drought spread along the Manitoba-Ontario border, while severe drought expanded in parts of northern Manitoba.
Conditions improved in northern Saskatchewan following above-normal rainfall, but dryness worsened farther south. Abnormally dry conditions expanded across south-central and southwestern Saskatchewan, with a small area of moderate drought also developing.
Southern Alberta also saw new abnormally dry and moderate drought conditions emerge after below-normal precipitation in both August and across the broader summer period.
