Drought has mostly now been eradicated across Western Canada following an overly wet month of September.
As can be seen on the map below, only areas of abnormal dryness and a small pocket of moderate drought in Manitoba’s Interlake region remained as of the end of September, and it’s likely more precipitation in October – including heavy snow in parts of Manitoba - will lead to even further improvement.
Indeed, despite the current deficits, “there are no ongoing moisture concerns going into the winter season,” according to the latest update of the Canadian drought monitor on Friday. Up until now, moderate and severe drought had been plaguing some parts of the Prairies for up to 2 ½ - 3 years.
Southern Alberta’s drought conditions improved significantly with late season precipitation, the monitor said, adding that as a result of the recent rain and snow, the abnormally dry regions were reduced and the moderate drought designation in the south part of the province was removed. As of the end of the month, small abnormally dry ratings persisted around Brooks in southern Alberta, in a region south of Red Deer and around Grande Prairie in the Peace river region. Conditions in northern Alberta also improved substantially and only abnormally dry conditions remained in the High Level area, which was among the worst-hit drought areas.
In southern Saskatchewan, accumulated precipitation through September exceeded 100 mm. Conditions also improved in central Saskatchewan, where abnormally dry designations were removed in areas around Kindersley and North Battleford. Small pockets of abnormally dry conditions only remained due to long-term deficits.
Meanwhile, southern Manitoba received exceptionally high precipitation in September, greater than 150 mm and bringing some moisture to the Interlake region. However, owing to severe surface water shortages, the Interlake region remains in moderate drought. Abnormally dry conditions remained in the northwest and across the east central regions of the province due to long-term deficits going back over nine months.
“Overall, above normal precipitation in the Prairies replenished soil moisture and water supplies during September,” the monitor said.
On the other hand, precipitation was average to below average and dry conditions remained relatively unchanged throughout September in portions of central Canada.
As of the end of the month, severe drought remained in a small region northwest of Ottawa, and moderate drought conditions continued to dominate much of southern Ontario. In addition, abnormally dry and moderate drought areas developed across southern and central Ontario and also in southern and eastern Quebec.
Source : Syngenta