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2013 saw one of the best crop yields on record
over the Red River valley |
The 2013 growing season for Winnipeg officially ended this morning with a low of -1.3C recorded at the Winnipeg airport site. The last spring frost this year was on May 12th, giving a growing season length of 131 days this year, 10 days above the average length of 121 days (at Winnipeg airport) Normal first fall frost at the airport is Sept 22nd, while the average last spring frost is May 23rd. Not all areas of the city however saw frost this morning, as an area of lake effect cloud streaming off Lake Winnipeg kept temperatures above freezing over northern and eastern sections of the city and areas to the north and east. At my site in Charleswood, I had a low of +0.4C, with some patchy frost noted.
After one of the latest springs on record this year, the 2013 growing season did quite well, with area farmers reporting
record crop yields this year thanks to favourable weather conditions and a fine late summer that extended the growing season into late September. This comes after another exceptional year in 2012 that also saw a bumper crop helped in part by one of the earliest springs on record in southern Manitoba.
Didn't get any frost at all around here in south St Vital. Didn't even see any on roofs. Low of 1.5°C at my place.
ReplyDeleteJJ
Does Lake Winnipeg have ANY effect on surrounding areas in terms of thwarting frost? I don't mean from cloud clover, but rather by direct lake breeze.
ReplyDeleteAndy... Yes, the lakes would certainly help in delaying frost over nearby areas, although without lake effect cloud cover, its effective protection would be limited to immediate shoreline areas, and perhaps a few km inland depending on overall wind direction and strength of the lake breeze. Lake temperatures at this time of year are still in the 15-18C range, which is a huge thermal "blanket" protecting shoreline areas from early frosts. I wouldn't know however how much longer it extends the growing season on average.
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