Abnormal dryness and drought conditions were little changed across Western Canada in January.
The latest monthly update of the Canadian drought monitor showed 26% of Prairie agricultural lands being impacted by abnormal dryness or some form of drought as of the end of January. That is up only slightly from 25% at the end of December but still well down from 34% in November.
January precipitation varied across the Prairies, with much of Alberta recording above normal precipitation while much of the remainder was below normal. Alberta had the greatest variation, with most of the province recording above normal precipitation except for pockets of central Alberta, the Peace Region and the Foothills region, where recorded precipitation was less than 60% of normal.
In Alberta, abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions persisted around Red Deer and west of Edmonton due to growing precipitation deficits and limited snowpack accumulations. Abnormal dryness also expanded across the Foothills, with the western Foothills receiving less than 40% of average precipitation again this month.
On the other hand, most of northern Alberta received normal to well-above normal precipitation in January, except for a very small part of the Peace region that received 40 - 85% of normal. Drought changes in the northern region were minimal with only a slight expansion of abnormally dry conditions south of Grande Prairie in the Peace Region.
There was little change in drought conditions in the southern and central parts of Saskatchewan in January, with the only exception being the southwest where a pocket of moderate drought around Swift Current was removed. Central areas of the province remained without any abnormal dryness or drought, but the monitor noted it only received 40-85% of normal precipitation during the month. Continued below normal precipitation for the central area could lead to the development of abnormal dryness, it warned.
Meanwhile, northern Saskatchewan saw reductions in abnormally dry conditions as recent precipitation began to alleviate some of the longer-term dryness in the area.
As for Manitoba, southern and central parts of the province saw minimal changes to drought conditions, with only a pocket of abnormally dry conditions added in the southwest along the Manitoba/Ontario border due to drier conditions over the past month. Across northern Manitoba, abnormally dry conditions were reduced due to improved long-term moisture. However, moderate drought conditions remained around Flin Flon and the Pas remained due to lingering longer term precipitation deficits.
