With seeding progress well behind normal in the province, the rainfall forecast this week is a mixed blessing.
Rain moved into southwestern Saskatchewan early Thursday morning and the moisture is very welcome.
High winds in recent days have caused some soil drifting. Some producers shut down seeding operations Wednesday, not wanting to disturb the soil and make it more erosion prone.
It’s important that rain arrived before the very high winds forecast for Thursday.
The southwest region is not the only area which has been dry. Per cent of normal precipitation maps from Environment Canada show that from April 1 to May 11, only the northern grain belt has had normal to above normal precipitation.
Significant areas of southeast as well as southwest Saskatchewan have had less than 40 per cent of normal precipitation.
Springtime precipitation has also been below normal in all of Manitoba and much of Alberta.
Rainfall amounts this week are not expected to be large, but will help surface moisture and crop germination in the dry regions.
However, rain will cause further delays in northern areas where seeding has barely started.
