It did not come as a surprise when Alberta Agriculture issued its latest update that precipitation levels have fallen below normal for southern Alberta.
According to the Alberta Agriculture report, areas in the province that lie east of Highway 2 and south of the Yellowhead Highway are being classified as in the 12-year low range, with parts of east central Alberta not seeing snowpack this low during the entire 1961-2011 observation period.
“To put this information into perspective, across Alberta’s agricultural areas, the six-month period between October and March, is Alberta’s dry season and only accounts for 24 to 30 percent of average annual precipitation, ranging from 100 mm across the central region to upwards of 140 mm across the Peace region,” said Ralph Wright, soil moisture specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “A dry winter receiving only 50 percent of average precipitation accumulations amounts to a deficit of 50-70 mm. However, this can easily by made up in the spring or early summer, with above average accumulations.”
According to the AgroClimatic Information Service (ACIS), parts of the south region, including areas in the County of Forty Mile has only received between one and five millimeters of precipitation from December 24 to January 22 of this year.
A map indicating 30-day precipitation accumulations percent of average at less than 25 percent, while some other parts of the region fared somewhat better at 25 to 50 percent.
Wright said it is too soon yet to panic and that the necessary moisture may still be on its way.
“It is very difficult to reliably predict what the remainder of the winter will be like,” he said. “History has shown that Alberta is a land of extremes, and dramatic swings between prolonged dry, wet, warm, and cold periods are not uncommon.”