The hot and dry weather of the past month has resulted in the driest July on record in Winnipeg since records began almost 140 years ago in 1872. Only 10.0 mm of rain was recorded at Winnipeg airport in
July 2011, beating the previous driest
July of 2006 at 10.5 mm. Normal July rainfall in Winnipeg is around 70 mm so rainfall this month was a meager 14% of normal. Rainfall was a little higher in other parts of the city in July including downtown (17.8 mm at the Forks) and northern sections (20-25 mm over North Kildonan/E St Paul areas) due to locally heavier showers and thunderstorms earlier in the month. But southern and western parts of the city have been the driest with only 8-10 mm recorded in July along the south perimeter.
The dry weather has been the result of a split in weather systems across the RRV this past month, with the jet stream bringing synoptic systems and significant rainfall across the central Prairies, while scattered thunderstorms further south have been tracking mainly south and west of the RRV through Saskatchewan into the Dakotas (see Prairie precip anomaly map above). The result has been a lack of precipitation events especially over the northern RRV, Steinbach and the Whiteshell areas. This is in sharp contrast to the start of the growing season that saw cool and wet conditions through May and early June across the region. The dry weather now has become a serious concern for farmers whose crops have not developed deep enough root systems to tap into more plentiful soil moisture deeper down in the earth.
The southern Red River valley was not quite as dry in July, being grazed by some thunderstorm complexes tracking through North Dakota. Areas from Morris to Emerson saw around 50 mm in July, while heavier amounts were recorded south of the border including Grand Forks at 67 mm, and Fargo at 133 mm.
Some July rainfall totals included..
Winnipeg airport..... 10.0 mm
Winnipeg Forks ...... 17.8 mm
Charleswood ........... 14.0 mm /Rob's Obs/
Brady landfill ........... 9 mm
Oak Bluff ................. 9 mm
St Vital .................. 14 mm
Whyte Ridge ............ 20 mm
N. Kildonan .............. 20 mm
E St Paul .................. 24 mm
Starbuck .................. 8 mm
Steinbach ................. 9 mm
Sanford .................... 10 mm
Portage ................... 14 mm
Pinawa .................... 16 mm
Selkirk ..................... 17 mm
St Pierre ................... 26 mm
Winkler .................... 35 mm
Carman ................... 38 mm
Morden ................... 44 mm
Morris ...................... 47 mm
Emerson ................... 55 mm
Grand Forks ............ 67 mm
Fargo ........................ 133 mm
Gimli ......................... 70 mm
Arborg ..................... 57 mm
Brandon .................. 65 mm
Dauphin .................. 153 mm
The Pas .................. 141 mm
It was a rare brown Christmas for portions of southern MB and much of North Dakota this year as the spell of unseasonably mild and dry weather that has persisted much of December continued through the Christmas holiday weekend. Much of the southern and western Red River valley (incl Emerson (above left), Morden and Carman) , southwest MB (Pilot Mound to Melita) and much of North Dakota (Grand Forks, right) were snowfree Christmas morning.. the first time this has happened since at least 1997. In Winnipeg, there was a little more snow around with about 2 cm on the ground Christmas day (an official "white" Christmas here) although most large open fields in and around the city had little or no snow cover (see webcam shots from south Winnipeg and Sanford). This is the lowest Christmas day snowdepth in Winnipeg since 1997 when a trace was officially observed at Winnipeg airport during a strong El Nino winter.
Satellite photos (left) show the minimal snow cover extent across southern MB and North Dakota, with little snow evident over the southern and western Red River valley and North Dakota and Minnesota.. which normally would be covered in white by this time of year. Click here for an explanation on this winter's slow start. Whether it was brown, white or green.. here's hoping everyone had a happy and healthy Christmas! All the best in 2012!
