Moisture situation as of September 16, 2018

 
  From the October 1, 2018 issue of Agri-News
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 Ralph Wright, manager of the agro-meteorological applications and modelling section with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry (AF), analyzes the data.
Synopsis:
Residents in some parts of the province woke up to snow on September 12. “Moist arctic air flooded into the province bringing hard frosts across much of the Peace region with some areas seeing overnight lows colder than -8 C,” says Wright. “Throughout the northwest and northeast, most areas saw significant accumulations of rain mixed with wet snow with upwards of 50 mm of precipitation recorded at several stations.”

Wright says that across southern Alberta, the weather was more moderate, but still cool for this time of year. “Daytime highs struggled into the low teens and overnight lows hovered near the freezing mark. Much of this area remained relatively dry with accumulations only approaching 15 mm in the extreme west along the foothills.”

6 day precipitation accumulations as of September 16, 2018

“The bulk of recent moisture fell across a wide east to west band, lying roughly between Grande Prairie and Red Deer,” explains Wright. “Here, precipitation totals ranged from 15-20 mm, to well over 35 mm. It fell across a large area that stretched along either side of the Yellowhead Highway, from Hinton to Lloydminster. Daytime highs hovered just a few degrees above freezing, and persistent rains gave way to periods of wet snow. Snow did accumulate at times in many areas but only lingered for short periods of time as it slowly melted off during the “warmer” parts of the day.”

Across the Peace Region, rain and snow fell on many areas between Grande Prairie and the town of Peace River, with the greatest accumulations occurring across the south, where 10-15 mm was common.

South of Red Deer, accumulations generally ranged from 10-15 mm, down to less than 5 mm throughout the central parts of Southern Alberta.

Frost between September 12 and September 16

“While this last event was not the first episode of late summer frost this year, it was extensive with only a small portion of the Southern Region managing to stay above the freezing mark,” adds Wright. “Generally frosts were lighter across the east half of the province with most areas staying above the -2 C mark. West of Highway 2 - from Olds to Grande Prairie - overnight lows dipped to -5 C in many locations. Between the town of Peace River and Fort Vermillion some areas saw overnight lows near the -8 C mark at least four nights in a row - September 12 to 16.”

Find more information at weatherdata.ca, Agricultural Moisture Situation Updates, or contact Ralph Wright, manager of the agro-meteorological applications and modelling section at 780-446-6831.

Contact:
Ralph Wright
780-446-6831

 
 
 
 
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For more information about the content of this document, contact Ralph Wright.
This document is maintained by Caitlynn Reesor.
This information published to the web on September 17, 2018.