Extensive wind damage

It isn’t unusual for wind to cause damage in Saskatchewan, but it is unusual to see wind damage over such a large area. Last week’s “big blow” toppled grain bins, ripped off siding, shingles and bin lids, and blew down corrals over a big chunk of Saskatchewan. It isn’t surprising considering many areas clocked winds of well over 100 km per hour. There were also cases of severe wind erosion. Fortunately, cultivating summerfallow to control weeds is not a common practice anymore. It’s these fields that took the brunt of the high winds. Back in the 80s, a wind like we had last week would have turned the sky black with topsoil. While extreme wind is never good news, the weather pattern now seems to be altered. After months of below average precipitation, there was some snow with all the wind and there’s more rain and snow in the forecast. In the dry areas, producers have their fingers crossed hoping the forecast is correct. I’m Kevin Hursh.