Soil moisture levels at freeze-up are near normal or below normal in most Manitoba basins, the province says.
“Conditions in most areas appear somewhat favourable,” said transportation and infrastructure minister Doyle Piwniuk in a Dec. 19 news release.
Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre released the 2022 Manitoba Basins Fall Conditions Report.
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It says most Manitoba basins received record to near record precipitation this past winter and spring. This created significant flooding. Hydrologic conditions improved over summer and fall with normal to below-normal precipitation.
In October and November, southern, western and eastern Manitoba basins received below-normal precipitation, while central and northern Manitoba basins received normal to well-above-normal precipitation.
Due to precipitation levels in summer and fall, soil moisture at the time of freeze-up is near normal to below normal for most Manitoba basins, with some areas in central Manitoba and the Interlake region having above-normal soil moisture.
Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg water levels are within normal operating ranges. Lake Winnipegosis, Lake St. Martin are near normal to slightly above normal. Dauphin Lake is well above normal for this time of year. Inflow into Lake of the Prairies (Shellmouth Reservoir) is tracking near-normal conditions.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s long-term precipitation forecast for this winter and spring has predicted above-normal precipitation for northern Manitoba and near-normal precipitation for southern Manitoba.
