Jackman-Atkinson: Conversations will continue
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- Published on Thursday, April 11, 2013
By: Kate Jackman-Atkinson
myWestman.ca
Talking about the weather is a Manitoba tradition and these days, it’s hard not to. Here we are, part way through April, it’s still cold and we’re still surrounded by snow, far too much snow.
We shouldn’t still be clearing snow and still unable to see over the snow piles which were made during the “last” snow clearing, which turned out to be far from the last time we cleared snow. In mid-April, the fact that I’ve lost my good winter mittens shouldn’t be a problem.
It doesn’t just feel like winter is lasting forever, the numbers prove it. Overnight on April 8, low temperature records were broken across the province. In Brandon, temperatures hit -17.9 C, passing the record of -16.7 C which was set in 1965.
That night, we were digging through three foot snow banks in an area where we could see grass before the most recent snowfall. According to Environment Canada, the low on April 8, 2012 was -4.2C and there was no snow on the ground.
When the snow started falling this winter, most of us breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, from fall 2011 through to fall 2012, it had been an incredibly dry year. After a dry fall and winter, between April and September of last year, areas in the Banner’s coverage area received between 60 per cent and 90 per cent of normal rainfall and the lack of precipitation was felt by almost everyone.
Across much of North America, crops failed because they didn’t get the moisture they needed. We were fortunate that this wasn’t the whole story in Manitoba where some crops, such as corn and spring wheat, produced yields above the five-year average.
However, it wasn’t all good news as crops such as oats, canola and barley had a yield below the five year average.
While some grain farmers had a good year, livestock producers felt the pinch. With a dry summer, hay production was down and almost no second cut hay was taken. Additionally, the dry weather meant that dugouts and creeks used to water cattle were running dry.
Dugouts weren’t the only things running dry. Many rural residents had their wells run dry as well. It was hard to find someone last fall who wasn’t concerned about their water supplies.
But we’ve made up for that dry spell and beyond being depressing, the continued cold temperatures and accumulated snow fall is cause for concern for almost everyone in the province.
Of course, farmers are concerned. Their livelihood is dependent on the weather. Last April, farmers were seeding and according to MAFRI’s 2012 crop year in review, half of the wheat crop and 28 per cent of the canola crop was seeded in April. It’s hard to imagine that much seeding will take place this month. Not only are farmers concerned about being behind in their seeding, very little fall field work was done last year because it was so dry.
Livestock producers may not be as concerned about water as they were, but they are still feeding hay at a time they were hoping their stock would be at least eating some grass.
While last fall we were worried about too little water, this spring, the concern is the opposite. The province’s 2013 flood forecast notes that the potential for flooding is significantly higher than in 2012 due to above average snowfall and more wide-spread high water content snow packed in many parts of the province.
Not only are people concerned about the amount of snow to melt, we’re also concerned about how it will melt.
Manitoba’s average temperature for April is 3.4C and we count on a warmish April to slowly melt the snow away. The snow must melt (we hope) and each day of continued cold weather means that the thaw will happen quickly. A lot of water over a short time creates a challenge for those hoping to keep their homes, towns, cities and farmland protected from flooding.
We can’t predict what will come over the next weeks and months, but we can predict with some certainty that conversations about the weather will continue, long after the snow finally melts.
