Map: February Precipitation Fails to Move Needle on Prairie Soil Moisture

The month of February did little to change Prairie soil moisture prospects heading into spring. 

As shown on the map below, precipitation during the month was about normal for most of Saskatchewan and Alberta, with much of Manitoba and the northwestern Prairie seeing well below amounts. 

According to the latest monthly Canadian Agriculture Weather Prognosticator from World Weather, the lack of any significant relief in February is typical, adding that the only real wintertime boost in Prairie soil moisture occurred way back in November. 

“February’s precipitation (or lack thereof) had little to no impact on the moisture profile,” World Weather said in the report. “Normally, late March and especially April is the first time in the new growing season that precipitation can be great enough to seriously improve soil moisture, though that is dependent upon snow cover and temperatures.” 

Significant moisture deficits remain in the soil across much of the southern Prairies and in a small region west of the Highway Two corridor in Alberta, World Weather said, meaning many producers are still hopeful of additional precipitation prior to planting. For the month of March, however, World Weather said it does not anticipate any significant change to the moisture profile or precipitation pattern. 

According to the latest monthly update of the Canadian drought monitor, 26% of Prairie agricultural lands were being impacted by abnormal dryness or some form of drought as of the end of January. That is up only slightly from 25% at the end of December but still well down from 34% in November.   

The drought monitor update for February should be released in the coming days.