Timely Rain in Most Locales

Timely Rain in Most Locales

Rainfall last week and early this week brought precipitation (ranged from 1/2 inch to 4 inches) to much of western Canada. The additional moisture brought a welcome reprieve to parts of northwest and southwest Manitoba, southwest Saskatchewan, central and Peace region of Alberta, and the BC Peace region where drought stress symptoms were appearing. The recent moisture has improved crop conditions (less stress evident and crops covering the ground better) but additional rainfall will be needed again soon to keep pace with crop requirements. Parts of the eastern and interlake regions in Manitoba and northern Peace Region of Alberta are at or above field capacity and any further rainfall will result in additional excess moisture stress.

Maps of current moisture conditions in western Canada from PFRA are available at:
http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/drought/prpay09_e.htm
http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/drought/prpgs09_e.htm
Additional moisture information for Alberta is available from Alberta Environment at:
http://www.environment.alberta.ca/forecasting/data/precipmaps/weekly.pdf