Send snow/rain to western Prairies

It’s been a dry winter on the Prairies. In fact, according to the precipitation maps published by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, it’s been record dry in some regions –in particular northeastern Alberta and northwestern Saskatchewan. Since November 1, no part of the Prairies shows up at above normal precipitation. Instead, precipitation has been 60 to 80 per cent of normal, 40 to 60 per cent of normal, or under 40 per cent. This is a lot bigger issue in the west than the east. The soil moisture map published by soil scientist Les Henry in Grainnews shows that anything east of a line from about North Battleford to Moose Jaw went into the winter in good shape. West of that line, including almost all of Alberta has very little soil moisture reserve. March and April can see substantial precipitation. While big storms can be a nuisance, especially for calving season, moisture would certainly be welcome on the western side of the Prairie region. I’m Kevin Hursh.