Some abnormal dryness and minor drought are beginning to develop across southern Ontario amid scant rainfall over the past month.
As can be seen on the map below, much of the southwestern part of the province, including the Niagara area, has seen less than 40% of normal precipitation over the last month or so (shown dark red). Much of the eastern part of the province has not fared any better, with those areas in between also receiving well below normal rainfall (40% to 60% of normal). It’s been drier than normal across most of Quebec as well, with wildfires raging across central parts of the province.
In the latest update of his crop hotline, Real Agriculture agronomist Peter Johnson said that in some parts of the province, it was the driest May in 42 years.
The recent dryness has been a boon for corn and soybean planting, with both of those crops now almost entirely now in the ground. However, rain would still be welcome for those corn crops dealing with crusting problems, and soybeans struggling with vigour and cold injury from freezing overnight temperatures earlier in the month.
The dryness and last week’s heat, with daytime temperatures in some cases exceeding 30 degrees C, is also coming at the wrong time for the province’s winter wheat crop, which is entering the grain fill stage of development.
