Prairie drought persists through October: Canadian Drought Monitor

(Canadian Drought Monitor) – Substantial drought conditions persisted across much of Western Canada in October, with only a few select areas receiving moisture, according updated data from the Canadian Drought Monitor as of Oct. 31.

At the end of the month, 76 per cent of the Prairie region was classified as being abnormally dry (D0) or in moderate to exceptional drought (D1 to D4), including nearly one-hundred percent of the region’s agricultural landscape, according to the most recent report from the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada department.

Although most areas in the Prairies remained in significant drought, some select locations received above-normal monthly precipitation, leading to small areas of improvement. Much of the precipitation fell in western Alberta, southern Saskatchewan and along the Manitoba-U.S. border; this much-needed moisture helped to improve the drought situation in these areas, said the report.

Upwards of 25 mm above-normal precipitation fell along the Foothills and towards Lethbridge, which roughly accounted for more than 200 percent of normal precipitation for the month of October. As a result, small improvements were made to severe to extreme drought (D2 to D3) in the area. Similar precipitation fell across parts of southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba; this led to a reduction in severe drought (D2) around Regina and extreme to exceptional drought (D3 to D4) across southern Manitoba. Although southern Manitoba previously struggled with adequate moisture levels, this area has received 30 to 60 mm above-normal precipitation since August. Emerson, Manitoba reported their wettest October on record with more than 400 percent of normal precipitation falling.

Looking at the rest of the country, moisture in the Pacific region allowed for significant improvements in drought across Vancouver Island and onto the mainland in the southern region of British Columbia. In the Central region, many areas across southern Ontario and Quebec received normal to above-normal precipitation in October, allowing the region to remain drought free or see some improvement. The only area of the central region that continued to receive below-normal precipitation was southeastern Quebec, which led to the formation of severe drought (D2).

Eastern and Northern regions of Canada remained relatively unchanged.