Soil moisture levels near normal in most of Manitoba

Soil moisture levels at freeze-up are near normal or below normal in most Manitoba basins, the province says.

“Conditions in most areas appear somewhat favourable,” said transportation and infrastructure minister Doyle Piwniuk in a Dec. 19 news release. 

Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre released the 2022 Manitoba Basins Fall Conditions Report. 

It says most Manitoba basins received record to near record precipitation this past winter and spring. This created significant flooding. Hydrologic conditions improved over summer and fall with normal to below-normal precipitation. 

In October and November, southern, western and eastern Manitoba basins received below-normal precipitation, while central and northern Manitoba basins received normal to well-above-normal precipitation.

Due to precipitation levels in summer and fall, soil moisture at the time of freeze-up is near normal to below normal for most Manitoba basins, with some areas in central Manitoba and the Interlake region having above-normal soil moisture.