Statistics show that May normally brings precipitation for ten days in the Turtle Mountain Provincial Park, equaling 2.4 inches. Since this is early in the month, with some luck we can catch up. But it has not been encouraging seeing an inch or so of rain predicted on the Weather Network just to see it disappear or to watch dark clouds to the south not make the trip northward.
To show how far behind we are, normally we would have received about an inch in March and another inch in April, besides the amount of snow during the winter. So the dry conditions are not all that surprising.
Different springs bring different problems. Some years, like 2011, have heavy snowfalls with a lot of rain. When this is coupled with a wet fall, then rural roads are impassible and famers cannot get on the land to do seeding.
In 2017, it was wet due to the amount of snow in winter. There was not a lot of rain in the spring, but that is what was needed to prevent being soaked.
Instead, this spring is more like 1988, when Boissevain Fire Chief Eric Reichert reported to Council that there had been 14 fires in April and there was a fire ban. In 2018 too, Boissevain-Morton Fire Department has a fire ban in place.
Despite everything, there have been signs the moisture in the ground it not too bad, perhaps left over from 2017. The cold spring – as much as eight degrees below normal – kept the frost from coming out early and that might have also kept the moisture level good down there. This could be a saving grace, but the time comes when the rain must fall.
Manitoba Agriculture has said that seeding is underway and field conditions are good, but admit the land is getting dry and rain is needed for crop germination and emergence. This is true in most of the province. Some precipitation will be needed within the next ten days or two weeks.
Nonetheless, spring cereals and peas have started. These are often earliest as they can tolerate frost, which was predicted for Wednesday night/Thursday morning, better. They are planted in cooler soil temperatures. On May 8, Manitoba Agriculture said soil temperatures in the Westman region were between 5.1 degrees and 10.7 degrees Celsius.
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff