Drought to continue through forecasted rainfall

With southern Manitoba in the midst of a significant drought, a single rainfall is unlikely to change it, though it will be a welcome sight for many.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is Canada's official source for monitoring drought conditions. Since late April, the AAFC have noticed drought conditions in southern Manitoba, ranging from a 'moderate drought' in Winnipeg to 'severe droughts' south of both Winnipeg and Brandon.

"It's been developing for several months," said Patrick Cherneski about the drought in southern Manitoba. "This drought is part of one that extended back into last year."

Winnipeg and the surrounding areas received the first measurable precipitation since April 12 on Tuesday. Cherneski was kind when asked if that would help.

"In short, no," Cherneski laughed. "The deficits right now are fairly significant."

For places like southern Manitoba, Cherneski estimates the deficit is around 50-75 millimetre. He says that one rainfall won't fix this, such as the one forecast for Thursday. That said, he also mentioned that, for farmers, surface soil moisture is very important as well, so the rain will be a blessing to them.

"Boy, producers are going to be pleased with that," Cherneski said.

There is no drought forecast since AAFC rely on Environment Canada for weather data and that can be hard to predict. He did mention that some of the forecasts show warmer than normal temperatures and lower than normal precipitation, which could extend the drought for many months to come.

The lack of precipitation has caused a temporary fire ban to go into effect in Winnipeg and southern Manitoba.