Southwest Saskatchewan ground moisture got much needed boost from late-summer rains

By Medicine Hat News on December 19, 2024.

@MedicineHatNews

Heavy rains in September left some areas of southwest Saskatchewan near Alberta wetter than normal at freeze-up, the Saskatchewan Water Agency stated in its end-of-autumn report on moisture conditions.

It also forecasts the risk of drought in 2025 as “moderate” closest to the Alberta boundary, though “high” in areas southeast of Swift Current.

“Drier than normal conditions observed through 2024 have resulted in moderate to high risks across much of the province,” the report states. “In areas where the risk is high or extreme (south of Moose Jaw), even a normal snowpack may not be sufficient to prevent water shortages in 2025.”

A combination of weather forecasts predicts near normal precipitation and normal to below-normal temperatures through the end of February.

The southwest quadrant of that province experienced a typically drier than usual summer in 2024, and now soil moisture varies from adequate to short going west to east.

Most of the grain belt from Rosetown to Estevan received about half the amount of normal rainfall from early June to late August.

Heading into winter, most reservoirs in the province are at near normal levels.

The SWA reports a mild hydrological (subsurface) drought in most of the southern half of the province, with the exception of the Battle Creek/Eagle Creek Basin in west-central parts of the province, where the shortage is moderate to severe.

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