If You Drain Them, Floods Will Come

Given how saturated the soil was last fall, coupled with record snowfall throughout the Canadian Prairies, it’s no surprise to witness the unprecedented flooding that has occurred along the Assiniboine River and its tributaries this year. However, this situation is much worse because of wetland drainage across the Prairies. Wetland drainage increases the probability of

Weekly Weather Map – for Sep. 1, 2011

The Weather Vane is prepared by Daniel Bezte, a teacher by profession with a BA (Hon.) in geography, specializing in climatology, from the University of Winnipeg. Daniel has taught university-level classes in climate and weather and currently operates a computerized weather station at his home near Birds Hill Park, on 10 acres he plans to


Warm July Globally, And Low Sea Ice

The global temperature numbers have been crunched for the month of July and depending on who crunched the data, July was somewhere between the third and sixth warmest on record. Land-based observations had July as the fifth warmest on record, while ocean-based observations had that region as the 11th warmest July on record. Combining the

Taking Climate Change Seriously

While there is no such thing as an “average” farmer, there seems to be a certain proportion of the species with a somewhat selective attitude toward science-based research. When it comes to crop chemicals or genetically modified organisms, they are quite prepared to accept the vast majority of scientific opinion that they are perfectly safe,


Taking A Position On Agriculture And Climate Change

At its 66th annual international conference in July, the Soil and Water Conservation Society released this position statement on climate change and soil and water conservation. SWCS is a scientific organization with chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada, and which has over 5,000 members around the world. The Soil and Water Conservation Society finds that

Hail Claims Well Below Average

In its biweekly report, the Canadian Crop Hail Association says that despite some well-publicized storms, the number of hail claims filed by Prairie farmers is well below average for this time of year. As of mid-week, the member companies reported a total of roughly 2,650 claims in Saskatchewan, 930 claims in Alberta and 500 claims


Arctic Sea Ice At Record Low

I’ll have to admit the biggest request for weather articles lately has been related to all of the rain that some regions have seen over the last few months. If you are one of those people waiting to see just how much rain fell and how it compares to past years, I’m afraid you will

Lake Manitoba Outlet Gets Fast-Tracked

The Manitoba government wants an outlet to lower water in lakes Manitoba and St. Martin operating by Jan. 1, 2012 to reduce the threat of spring flooding next year. Premier Greg Selinger announced that and additional flood aid under the Building and Recovery Action Plan July 4. Record flooding will cost the Manitoba government more


Farmers Face Water Shortage As Climate Changes

Farmers, governments and regulators should take preventive action to improve water management, because climate change will tighten water supplies for agriculture, the United Nations’ food agency said. Climate change will be bringing higher temperatures and more frequent droughts, reducing water availability especially in water-scarce regions, while melting glaciers will eventually cut water supplies in major

Weekly weather map – for Jun. 30, 2011

The Weather Vane is prepared by Daniel Bezte, a teacher by profession with a BA (Hon.) in geography, specializing in climatology, from the University of Winnipeg. Daniel has taught university-level classes in climate and weather and currently operates a computerized weather station at his home near Birds Hill Park, on 10 acres he plans to