This year spring was a really cold one. The daily temperature was almost four degrees cooler than normal.
Winnipeg and the Red River Valley got to experience multiple seasons in a day, from snowy mornings to the risk of thunderstorms late afternoon and into the evening.
Now Manitoba is experiencing the driest first half of the year in over a century. The amount of precipitation that Manitoba has experienced this year is over 60% less than our normal amounts.
This lack of heat from the ridge has resulted in the current lack of precipitation. Canada has been tracking the decreasing trend of precipitation in Manitoba and reports, Starting in this January, Winnipeg reported 5.7 millimetres of precipitation in January, where the average or normal - according to the 1981-2010 Canadian Climate Normal Data.
Effects of the dry weather:
- crops are not getting the water that they need,
- dangerous wildfires,
- low levels of drinking water.