A person is reflected in a large puddle along Third Atreet SE following a significant downpour that broke the city's single-day participation record with 73.3 mm of rainfall Tuesday--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Environment Canada recorded 77.3 millimetres of rain Tuesday in Medicine Hat and broke its previous single-day precipitation record for May by more than 30 mm.
Meteorologists say the previous record occurred May 6, 1996 when the city received 40.6 mm of precipitation in a single day. Tuesday’s rainfall event also exceeded the city’s average precipitation for the entire month of May, which averages at 43.8 mm.
The wettest May on record dates back to 1903 when a total of 159.8 mm of participation was recorded through the month. More recently, 118.8 mm of precipitation was recorded in 2010.
“There have been wetter months, but again, we’ve still got weeks to go,” says Terri Lang, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Lang says the spring rainfall is encouraging and is contrasts to the hot and dry conditions Medicine Hat experienced last May.
“Of course there’s a huge precipitation deficit that has accumulated had over the last four or five years,” says Lang. “So there’s lots of moisture to make up. I wouldn’t call this a ‘drought buster’ or anything like that, I would call it a ‘drought denter,’ it’s kind of putting a dent in it.
“It was that good steady rain, it hit a lot of places, a lot of places that were really suffering.”
Lang explains when moisture enters the ground and helps crops grow, those crops give off a tremendous amount of moisture called evapotranspiration or the ‘corn sweats,’ that can fuel additional showers throughout the summer season.
“So the more rain we have in the spring that helps the crops grow, that actually helps bring more moisture, potentially,” says Lang.
Environment Canada is forecasting sunshine for the rest of the week with temperatures climbing to 25C over the weekend.
