Mammatus-type clouds over Winnipeg on the evening of July 2, 2023. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairie Forecast Update: Low lingers in Manitoba

Issued July 2, covering July 3 to 5

Reading Time: < 1 minute The overall forecast remains on track across both Alberta and Saskatchewan, so only a small update is needed for Manitoba. Across Manitoba, the area of low pressure that has been tracking across the northern half of the Prairie provinces is now forecasted to take a little longer to exit this region. The two main impacts […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Saskatchewan drainage work rebates expanded to farmers

Channel clearing, drain maintenance program shares eligible costs

Reading Time: 2 minutes A program to help rural Saskatchewan municipalities and local authorities cover costs of channel clearing and maintaining drains for flood prevention will now expand to include individual landowners. The province’s Water Security Agency (WSA) said Friday its $1 million cost-share rebate program will expand its eligibility beyond RMs, conservation and development area (C+D) authorities and […] Read more


(Warchi/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast: Alberta low to bring bit of a cooldown

Issued June 28, covering June 28 to July 5

Reading Time: 3 minutes After a fairly active weather pattern over the last few days, at least across the eastern half of the Prairies, it looks like most regions will see much quieter few days to start off this forecast period. Weak upper-level ridging combine with a broad but weak area of surface high pressure should bring typical summer […] Read more

Ripened saskatoon berries in Winnipeg on June 26, 2023. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairie Forecast Update: Low to push across region’s east

Update issued June 25, covering June 25-28

Reading Time: < 1 minute There has been a little bit of a shift in the overall weather pattern according to the latest weather model runs. The arctic high is dropping east-southeast as expected and will be around James Bay by the middle of this week. Along the southern boundary of the arctic air, the weather models show an area […] Read more


Ducklings on display at the Red River Ex in Winnipeg on June 20, 2023 stuck to the shady side of the waterer as daytime temperatures maxed out at nearly 36 C. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairie Forecast: Shift in the pattern

Issued June 21, covering June 21 to 28

Reading Time: 3 minutes The weather pattern that brought some record heat to the eastern Prairies, and some significant rains to parts of Alberta, looks like it will be undergoing a bit of change during this forecast period. The overall flow across the Prairies appears as though it will become predominantly northwesterly as an upper low sets up over […] Read more

File photo of stormy conditions over Alberta fields. (Larry Stickney/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast Update: Alberta low to break in two

Forecast issued June 18, covering June 19-21

Reading Time: < 1 minute So far, the general forecast seems to be on track, but there have been some changes. The area of low pressure expected to develop and move north through Alberta is still on track but the weather models now it show it winding itself up across central and northern Alberta on Monday before it breaks apart […] Read more


File photo of storm clouds over northeastern Alberta. (ImagineGolf/E+/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast: Alberta low looks to dominate

Forecast issued June 14, covering June 14-21

Reading Time: 3 minutes So far, the weather models have been doing a good job with the medium-range forecasts, only falling off late in the forecast period. Of course, in the summer, short-range forecasts can be difficult, especially when it comes to just when and where thunderstorms will develop. I always find it interesting that a forecast could be […] Read more

Smoke billows upwards from the Donnie Creek wildfire south of Fort Nelson, B.C. n June 11, 2023. (Photo: B.C. Wildfire Service handout via Reuters)

Western Canada covered in smoke as wildfires loosen grip on Quebec

Over 200 of 449 wildfires now out of control

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Smoke shrouded Western Canada on Monday as wildfires flared again in the main oil-producing province of Alberta, while firefighters in Quebec doused some of the worst early-season blazes, allowing thousands of evacuees to return home. Canada is enduring its most destructive start to wildfire season, with about 4.8 million hectares — […] Read more


AAFC’s Drought Monitor map as of May 31, 2023.

Drought expands across Canadian Prairies

Dry conditions push eastward in Manitoba

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Warm and dry conditions across much of the Prairies in May caused drought conditions to worsen, especially in Alberta, according to the latest Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. As of May 31, an estimated 79 per cent of the Prairie region was classified as abnormally dry (D0) or in moderate […] Read more

RJ Sigurdson, MLA for Highwood, is sworn in on June 9, 2023 as Alberta’s minister of agriculture and irrigation. (Government of Alberta video screengrab via YouTube)

Calgary-area MLA named Alberta’s new ag minister

RJ Sigurdson to handle ag file, Horner moves to finance

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Alberta government’s caucus lead on emergency medical services (EMS) reform has been promoted to handle the agriculture file in a post-election cabinet shuffle. RJ Sigurdson, MLA for the constituency of Highwood, just south of Calgary, was sworn in Friday by Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani as Alberta’s new minister of agriculture and irrigation, replacing Nate Horner. […] Read more