Frigid winter temperatures on the Prairies combined with rain-related loading delays on the West Coast are contributing to growing vessel lineups at Canada’s busiest marine port. As of early February, the number of ships waiting to be loaded with grain at the Port of Vancouver was around 30, according to Canada’s Grain Monitoring Program (GMP). […] Read more
Weather
No major issues in weather forecast
EDMONTON — Inadequate spring precipitation could make it difficult to establish crops in parched southern prairie fields this coming crop season, and late frost events in eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba may cause further problems, according to weather forecaster Drew Lerner. “The spring season is going to be a challenge for a lot of locations that […] Read more
2017 was second or third warmest year, behind 2016 – U.N.
OSLO (Reuters) – Last year was the second or third warmest on record behind 2016, and the hottest without an extra dose of heat caused by an El Niño event in the Pacific Ocean, the United Nations said on Thursday. Average surface temperatures in 2017 were 1.1 degree Celsius (2.0 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, creeping […] Read more
Prairie snow still in short supply
Large section of central Saskatchewan has virtually no snow, while levels in other areas are below average
WINNIPEG — Parts of the Sahara Desert received rare snowfall last week, with up to 40 centimetres falling in the Algerian desert town of Ain Sefra. That freak snow — only the third time in 40 years — made for some fantastic photographs before melting but would be more welcome in Western Canada, where many […] Read more
Dryness threat not getting any better
Conditions range from ‘abnormally dry’ to ‘extreme drought’ across a large portion of Western Canada, causing increasing concern for the upcoming crop
Most prairie grain growers could be looking at a dry and early seeding season in 2018 unless conditions change dramatically over the next two to three months. Trevor Hadwen, an agro-climate expert with Agriculture Canada, says conditions across much of the West remain unusually dry. Agriculture Canada just released the latest version of its Canadian […] Read more
Beet growers eye road de-icing market
Beet juice can beat snow and ice in winter road conditions, but the stuff being used in Calgary and elsewhere in Western Canada does not come from Alberta-grown sugar beets. Alberta Sugar Beet Growers would like to change that because another use for their product could mean more acres and higher economic returns. “We believe […] Read more
World may be hotter than expected by 2100
OSLO, Norway (Reuters) — World temperatures could rise 15 percent more than expected this century, obliging governments to make deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming, scientists said late last year. Average surface temperatures could increase up to .5 C more than previously projected by 2100 in the most gloomy scenarios for […] Read more
La Nina set to weaken heading into spring
WINNIPEG, Jan. 3 (CNS) – Despite being gripped by freezing temperatures, one weather expert says he thinks the Canadian Prairies will see a weakening of the La Nina weather phenomena in the coming months, which will mean more moisture come spring-time. “Most likely we’ll have neutral conditions with a slight La Nina bias during the […] Read more
Prairies remain dangerously dry
A map on Agriculture Canada’s drought monitor website tells a depressing and somewhat scary story. With the exception of a region from North Battleford, Sask. to west of Edmonton, nearly all the agricultural land on the Prairies is dry or in a drought. Making matters worse, a large chunk of the map, around Regina and […] Read more
La Niña likely lasts through winter
The forecast likelihood for weak or moderate La Niña conditions to persist through the Northern Hemisphere winter increased in a monthly U.S. government weather forecast update. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), an agency of the National Weather Service, pegged the chance of La Nina persisting through the winter at about 80 percent, up from 65 […] Read more
