With January bringing below normal precipitation to most areas, drought conditions across Western Canada were little changed compared to December.
As shown below, the Prairie drought map for January doesn’t look much different from December, with parts of all three provinces still seeing a mix of abnormally dry to extreme drought conditions.
Meanwhile, concern continues to grow about the lack of moisture as the spring planting season draws nearer. Although there is still plenty of time for the situation to change, longer-term forecasts suggest precipitation will remain relatively limited for the time being.
The latest edition of the Canadian Agriculture Weather Prognosticator, released by World Weather earlier this month, suggests February and early March precipitation will continue to be lighter than usual in many areas, although there is the potential for some pockets – including the Peace River Region and other western Alberta locations - to trend a little wetter.
“For a more generalized moisture boost across the Prairies a waiting game will be played out for late spring and summer pattern changes,” the World Weather report said.
