Map: Soil Moisture Still Short in Some Prairie Areas as Temperatures Set to Drop
Portions of western Canada remain stubbornly short on soil moisture, and with temperatures set to turn sharply colder, the window for meaningful replenishment is closing fast.
According to World Weather Inc., this week marks the last stretch of milder conditions for a while, with much colder weather beginning next week. Although the transition is expected to bring some snowfall that may provide cover for winter crops and help limit frost in the ground, it will not be a fix for the driest areas, most notably the central and southwestern Prairie.
In fact, World Weather said described the odds as “quite high,” that those regions will come into next spring with a dry bias in the soil.
As can be seen on the map below, soil moisture across Western Canada is highly variable, with southern Manitoba quite wet, but the more western Prairie areas well below normal, especially between Calgary and Edmonton.
Overnight temperatures in Edmonton by next weekend are forecast to fall to around –20 degrees C, with Calgary readings dropping to around –15 degrees. The cold will eventually spread eastward, but not before Western Canada bears the brunt of the first major Arctic outbreak.
According to the latest monthly update of the Canadian drought monitor last week, abnormal dryness or some form of drought was impacting 68% of Prairie agricultural lands as of the end of October. That’s up 4 points from September and above 59% in August but still well below 81% in July.
