WINNIPEG — Manitoba has gone from one of the worst floods on record to what some fear could be a drought for this summer.
The province already says moderate drought conditions prevail in eastern Manitoba and in southern Manitoba, including the Westman and Interlake regions, with some areas not seeing much rainfall since late June.
Making the situation worse is that little snow covers much of southern Manitoba due to unseasonably mild weather.
Conditions in Manitoba are mirrored across the country, with snowfall amounts in many places also well below normal.
David Phillips, Environment Canada’s senior climatologist, says winter has been missing in action this year.
He says Canada is usually the second-coldest country in the world and the snowiest, but not this year.
Manitoba will release its first spring flood forecast next month.
Despite a relatively balmy winter so far, Environment Canada calls for colder, below normal weather for the next two months, but not much more snow.
That means there could be little snow to replenish fields that are still dry from last autumn.
“I think we all realize that we did have below-average precipitation starting in June going forward,” provincial crop specialist Pam de Rocquigny said. “So we are definitely, quite opposite of last year.”
De Rocquigny said while it’s too early to predict a drought, much of the land hit by excess moisture last year has dried out.
“If we do get any significant snowfall the ability of the soil to absorb some of that moisture will be definitely greater than it was a year ago,” she said.