Ag Weather Forum

Canadian Crops Benefit From Warmer, Drier Weather

Doug Webster
By  Doug Webster , DTN Senior Ag Meteorologist
The recent stretch of warm, dry weather has helped crops to recover some from the cool, wet conditions of late spring and early summer, such as the heavy rains that hit earlier in July in southeastern Saskatchewan. (DTN photo by Elaine Shein)

The weather has been mostly on the side of farmers and their crops since mid-July as warmer, mostly dry weather has taken hold for Western Canada. A brief interruption in this pattern during the next few days will bring some rain which is actually needed in a few areas to bolster top soil moisture which has begun to lag a bit with recent drier weather, especially across western Alberta.

The upper air weather features across North America are expected to bring a mean ridge to the western U.S. which will poke up into Western Canada during the next week and probably as long as two weeks. A trough is currently pushing through southwest Canada bringing the rainy, cooler weather in the short term.

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Following the passage of this trough later this weekend and into next week we can expect a return of warm weather and generally dry conditions once again. As has been the case since last winter, Manitoba may see less of the warmth than the western Prairies are expected to see.

The recent stretch of warm, dry weather has helped crops to recover some from the cool, wet conditions of late spring and early summer. While improvement has been noted, crop development is still running a little behind schedule for most areas. Hopefully the expected favorable conditions of the next week or two will allow for more catching up for crops.

Longer-range model products are keeping Western Canada in a mostly favorable weather pattern for crop advancement as we enter August. Near to above normal temperatures are being forecast for much of the region with Manitoba remaining closer to seasonal norms.

The monthly forecast for August across the Prairies is also mostly favorable with temperatures expected to average near to above normal for Alberta and Saskatchewan and just a little lower than normal across Manitoba. Rainfall predictions are for near to above normal amounts, but as long as rains are not too heavy most areas should benefit from this forecast.

Doug Webster can be reached at doug.webster@dtn.com

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