Weather synopsis (Aug 23, 2018; Wk 16)

Weather synopsis – We close out the Weekly Update for the growing season by looking back at precipitation thanks to the AAFC Drought Watch folks.

This is a map of growing season precipitation (% of normal; Fig. 1):

Figure 1.  Percent of normal precipitation for the growing season (April 1-August 22, 2018) across the Canadian prairies. Image has not been reproduced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada and was retrieved (23Aug2018).  Access the full map at http://www.agr.gc.ca/DW-GS/current-actuelles.jspx?lang=eng&jsEnabled=true

The following map illustrates precipitation (% of normal) for the last 60 days (Fig. 2):

Figure 2. Percent of normal precipitation the past 60 days (as of August 22, 2018) across the Canadian prairies.
Image has not been reproduced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada and was retrieved (23Aug2018).  Access the full map at http://www.agr.gc.ca/DW-GS/current-actuelles.jspx?lang=eng&jsEnabled=true

Whereas this is the precipitation (% of normal) for the past 30 days (Fig. 3):

Figure 3. Percent of normal precipitation the past 30 days (as of August 22, 2018) across the Canadian prairies.
Image has not been reproduced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada and was retrieved (23Aug2018).  Access the full map at http://www.agr.gc.ca/DW-GS/current-actuelles.jspx?lang=eng&jsEnabled=true

Here is the accumulated precipitation the past 7 days (Fig. 4)!

Figure 4. Accumulated precipitation the past 7 days (as of August 22, 2018) across the Canadian prairies.
Image has not been reproduced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada and was retrieved (23Aug2018).  Access the full map at http://www.agr.gc.ca/DW-GS/current-actuelles.jspx?lang=eng&jsEnabled=true

The map below reflects the Highest Temperatures occurring over the past 7 days (August 16-22, 2018) across the prairies and is available from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Fig. 5). 

Figure 5. Highest temperature across the Canadian prairies the past seven days (August 16-22, 2018). Image has not been reproduced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada and was retrieved (23Aug2018).  Access the full map at http://www.agr.gc.ca/DW-GS/current-actuelles.jspx?lang=eng&jsEnabled=true

The map below reflects the Highest Temperatures occurring over the past 7 days (August 16-22, 2018) across the prairies and is available from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Fig. 6). 

Figure 6. Lowest temperature across the Canadian prairies the past seven days (August 16-22, 2018). Image has not been reproduced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada and was retrieved (23Aug2018).  Access the full map at http://www.agr.gc.ca/DW-GS/current-actuelles.jspx?lang=eng&jsEnabled=true

Normally we share growing degree day maps calculated for the growing season including  March 1, 2018, to the present.  This week we instead reference the AAFC Drought Watch maps.  Below is the growing degree day map (GDD: Base 10ºC for APRIL 1 – August 20, 2018) and is available from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Fig. 7):

Figure 7. Growing degree-day using base 10ºC for across the Canadian prairies for the growing season (APRIL 1-August 20, 2018). Image has not been reproduced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada and was retrieved (23Aug2018).  Access the full map at http://www.agr.gc.ca/DW-GS/current-actuelles.jspx?lang=eng&jsEnabled=true

Below is the growing degree day map (GDD: Base 5ºC for APRIL 1 – August 20, 2018) and is available from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Fig. 8):

Figure 8. Growing degree-day using base 5ºC for across the Canadian prairies for the growing season (APRIL 1-August 20, 2018). Image has not been reproduced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada and was retrieved (23Aug2018).  Access the full map at http://www.agr.gc.ca/DW-GS/current-actuelles.jspx?lang=eng&jsEnabled=true

The maps above are all produced by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.  Growers can bookmark the AAFC Drought Watch Maps to continue to follow weather conditions during harvest and beyond.