Environment and Climate Change meteorologist Alysa Pederson said with normal to well above normal precipitation in May, it’s perfect timing for Alberta.
“Looking back at the month of May, it was good news in many ways,” she said, “because most places had normal, above normal or well above normal precipitation.
“Think about how dry November, December, January, February were last year, and going from our super dry winter into the spring, everybody was hoping to see a lot of precipitation — or at least normal or above normal precipitation — just because the soils were already so dry. So to get this kind of precipitation at this time of year is excellent,” Pedersen said.
The benefits are not only for farmers and agriculture, but also in reducing wildfire risk, she added.
“We think the highest risk for wildfires is in late April or early May because the trees and the leaves are trying to absorb moisture from the ground, and when you have a dry winter and there's no moisture, everything dries up very quickly. That's what we call spring precipitation,” Pedersen said, adding that it happens every year. “That's why we hope to see spring precipitation like this year.”
Precipitation data for May 2024 as of May 31 provided by Environment Canada.
Global News
She said some areas, such as southeastern Alberta, which has been plagued by drought, received a lot of precipitation in May.
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Lloydminster received 115mm of rainfall in May, compared to a normal monthly rainfall of 45mm.
“For example, Medicine Hat received only 300 per cent of normal precipitation. This May was the third highest precipitation on record for the region.”
Edmonton received a total of 58 mm of rainfall in May, compared to a normal monthly rainfall of 46 mm.
Fort McMurray experienced its 10th wettest May on record, Pedersen said.
There is still more rain to come. June is typically the wettest month of the year in Alberta.
“When we have hot weather and extremely dry weather, you get into fire season like we did last year. So this year we're very concerned, but the forecast is for above normal precipitation across the province this spring, and that's what we're seeing,” Pedersen said.
“Before May this year, people were very concerned. We talk about spring, but May is actually the month with the most wildfires.
“If you think about last year, in early May, we had daytime highs of 30 degrees. The risk was higher then because the trees hadn't greened up yet and it was actually pretty dry.”
For those who complain about Alberta's wet spring, Pedersen offers this advice:
“I keep reminding people what happens if we don’t have spring rains, and that’s what we saw last year. No one is really going to enjoy the outdoors in the summer if there’s smoke everywhere.
“It's actually much better to have the rain now in terms of bushfire risk for the rest of the summer,” she said.
“It’s a bit of a Catch-22, but spring rains are always welcome.”
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