Canadian Prairies Weather Outlook

It is winter calving season in the Canadian Prairies and producers there have started to go through some tough weather. An easy early winter season where temperatures and precipitation were above normal allowed for drought reduction and filling of stock ponds. It made it easier on the animals for calving as well. But La Nina has set up during the last week and harsh cold has been socked into the region. (https://www.dtnpf.com/…)

The forecast is not expected to change in any significant way throughout the rest of the month sufficient enough to shove the cold air out and bring milder Pacific-sourced air in. Some changes may occur in March, but even then, models are skeptical of any lasting changes to the overall pattern.

Calves born during the winter often face harsh cold this time of year, but that is usually broken up by periods of warm weather to relieve the stress. However, the weather pattern is offering no such breaks in the cold. It may not be incredibly intense during the entire month of February, but below-normal readings are expected to continue pretty much all month long.

So far this week, when temperatures first started falling to dangerous levels, morning low temperatures were in the negative 20s to negative 30s Celsius (negative 20s and 30s Fahrenheit). They have not been as harsh late this week, but they have remained well-below normal. However, another strong push of cold air will be filling into the region on Feb. 9-10 and will stick around through the entire week. Lows will again touch the negative 20s and 30s C at various times throughout the week while highs may not break zero Fahrenheit (minus 17.8 C) on some of the days. Those working outside and animals in their care will need extra protection and provisions. Readings may ease up in the intensity the following week, but are still forecast to remain below normal.

Snow has also been a common occurrence with the cold intrusion. Outside of parts of southern Alberta, snow cover over most of the region is adequate or above normal. Earlier this week, a wide swath of the region recorded 10-25 centimeters (4-10 inches) of fresh powder, burying any leftover forages that were uncovered, but building snowpack for the spring thaw. Though the storm track will be well to the south across the Southern U.S. for the foreseeable future, some occasional disturbances and weak clippers will combine to produce light amounts through the region.

To find more international weather conditions and your local forecast from DTN, head over to https://www.dtnpf.com/…

John Baranick can be reached at john.baranick@dtn.com

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