Map: February Precipitation Falls Short for Prairies

There is still plenty of time before the start of spring seeding, but the month of February did little to improve the moisture situation across Western Canada. 

As shown on the map below, most of Manitoba, much of Saskatchewan and parts of Alberta saw well below normal precipitation over the past 30 days. The 60- and 90-day maps display the same general trend, with drought still impacting large portions of the southwestern production region in particular. 

According to the latest monthly edition of the Canadian Agricultural Weather Prognosticator from World Weather Inc., snow cover is currently greatest across the northern 25-30% of the Prairies where 4 to 10 inches are common. A similar amount of snow is also on the ground in southern Manitoba. However, most other areas have less than four inches, with significant areas of west-central and southwestern Saskatchewan and southern Alberta reporting little to no snow on the ground. 

The less snow on the ground obviously means less snow melt in the spring, with some farmers in the worst-hit locations likely facing the possibility of planting into little or no soil moisture. There is potential for wetter weather in late March and especially April, “but confidence is still a little low over how significant the moisture will be,” the Prognosticator said.