Map: Prairie Dryness, Drought Up Sharply in May

Prairie dryness and drought worsened markedly in May, amid below normal precipitation and above average temperatures. 

The latest monthly update of the Canadian drought monitor showed 72% of Prairie agricultural lands impacted by abnormal dryness or some form of drought as of the end of last month. That is up sharply from 41% in April, 32% in March and 23% at the end of February. 

Large areas in northern and eastern Alberta, central and southwestern Saskatchewan, and central and southeastern Manitoba received less than 60% of normal precipitation during the month, with some regions, including central Saskatchewan and parts of northwestern Alberta recording below 40%, the monitor said. 

Central Saskatchewan saw ‘exceptionally low’ precipitation in May, with several locations recording less than 10 mm of precipitation, including La Ronge (2.6 mm), North Battleford (9.7 mm) and Prince Albert (2.0 mm). Meanwhile, temperatures were more than 3 degrees C above normal across much of Alberta, especially in the southwest and north.  

But while much of the prairie region received below to well below normal precipitation, pockets of all three provinces also received above to well above normal precipitation including west-central, and northeast Alberta, southeastern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba.