How it impacts the drought remains to be seen, but the month of May did not scrimp on precipitation for most of Western Canada.
As can be seen on the map below, much of eastern Alberta and southern Manitoba saw anywhere from 150% to more than 200% of normal precipitation during the month. Most other areas – except for a couple of pockets in western Alberta and portions of the Peace River district – saw at least normal amounts. Many areas received 2 to 4 inches, and some areas in southern Manitoba, southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta reported 4 to more than 6 inches. Such rainfall in a single month across most of the Prairies has not occurred in a couple of years, World Weather Inc said.
Although the May precipitation – which fell as both rain and snow – did delay planting in many cases, the moisture was welcome in the wake of multi-year drought in some locations, particularly the southwestern Prairie. But perhaps even more importantly, the precipitation may be a signal of things to come, according to World Weather.
In past years, it was obvious that drought was in control because storm after storm would move through the Prairies and disappoint with dismal rain coverage and amounts, World Weather said in the May edition of the Canadian Agricultural Weather Prognosticator. However, the more recent rainfall is a “huge signal toward verification of changing atmospheric conditions.”
Meanwhile, Prairie soil moisture conditions have also markedly improved, as shown on the map below.
The May drought monitor has not yet been released, but the April monitor still showed 99% of Prairie agricultural lands impacted by abnormally dry or drought conditions as of the end of the month – basically unchanged from March.
