Ag Weather Forum

Weather Improves Harvest Across Canada

Doug Webster
By  Doug Webster , DTN Senior Ag Meteorologist

Earlier in September when snow and cold were making life miserable for humans and crops across parts of the Prairies one had to wonder if this years crop yield would end up poorly. Weather patterns made a big turn around during the second half of September allowing for rapid recovery of crop prospects throughout the region.

An early take on September's temperature and precipitation averages and totals across the region shows that temperatures ended up near to a little above normal for most areas. Readings near normal to about 1 degree Celsius above normal occurred for most regions but the route getting there was anything but smooth. A couple of major peaks and valleys along the way ended up canceling each other out.

Rainfall and melted snowfall amounts were not too far from what we might expect last month with most totals varying in the range of 80 to 120 percent of normal. This keeps soils moist enough to get fall plantings in the ground and emerged before winter sets in.

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Crop harvest continues to advance at a rapid pace for most areas helped along by a generally dry weather pattern. There have been a day or two along the way with rainy conditions that bring brief halts to harvest but all in all a good pace to harvest activities should be able to continue well into if not through next week.

Harvest is more advanced across the west where beneficial weather has been in greater supply. Periodic showers and leftover wet soils from the wet summer across eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been a little more problematic to harvest of late but still some decent progress is being made.

For the most part good harvest weather should cover most of the Canadian Prairies during the coming week but the east may still be the region that sees a little greater threat for some slowdowns or stoppages from showers at times. Temperatures are expected to be on the chilly side of normal for a few days before western areas turn warmer again by early to mid next week.

Manitoba may continue to feel some cool weather as a result of a blocking upper air pattern developing across Canada during the next week. It appears this blocking may become quite strong for a time but for now is in a position to allow for harvest to continue into the middle of the month. Hopefully we'll see enough of a period of good weather to allow for harvest to wrap up in most areas during the next couple of weeks.

As we move a little deeper into the month we might start to see increasing cold and a better threat for some upslope snow across the west if the blocking pattern continues. If the blocking starts to weaken then a more favorable outlook for remaining harvest would be in the cards.

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

(CZ)

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