Conditions improving but drought still a threat

By Lethbridge Herald on September 17, 2025.

Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald

Drought conditions in parts of western Canada improved in August thanks to higher amounts of precipitation, with southern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta seeing considerable improvement.

While drought improved in the west, conditions in eastern Canada deteriorated significantly,” said Agriculture and Agri-food Canada agroclimate specialist Trevor Hadwen recently.

Hadwen, based out of Regina, says that the southern Prairies received significant moisture “reducing the amount of drought and improving soil moisture, water supplies and growing conditions.”

Drier than normal conditions were still seen in northern regions of the Prairies, increasing drought conditions in some regions, according to Hadwen in an update.

Significant changes have been seen in numerous regions, the greatest improvement being in the southern Prairies where extremely dry conditions were seen in southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan leading to some areas declaring agricultural disasters fairly early.

“Those regions that are under agriculture disaster have improved significantly in southern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta. Those regions have received significant moisture throughout the summer: and now drought is considered to be just moderate,” he says.

“Most of that region has seen tremendous amounts of rain all throughout July and August and really improved the soil moisture,” says Hadwen, adding that doesn’t mean crops have improved.

“The damage was done in June for most of those agricultural crops; certainly yields will still be very low throughout many of those regions,” he says.

Precipitation varied widely in Alberta last month with some areas seeing less than 60 per cent of normal rainfall while others received 115 to 150 per cent more. A storm on Aug. 20 brought high winds, downbursts and significant hail with precipitation improving drought conditions in the southeast which replenished soil moisture while increasing levels of reservoirs and dugouts and increasing groundwater amounts.

British Columbia saw dry conditions through the central part of the province in August but drought conditions improved in southern areas, noted Hadwin, stating the biggest concerns are with eastern and Atlantic Canada.

Southern and eastern Ontario as well as southern Quebec had below normal precipitation, leading to drought concerns. Extremely dry conditions throughout August in Atlantic Canada emerged in all four provinces.

Large concerns exist for drought in Atlantic Canada that are affecting water supplies, agricultural crops and could impact forest fires, he says. Atlantic Canada went from moderate or severe drought to extreme in August, leading to one of the driest months on record, says Hadwen.

Every province and territory is experiencing drought, he adds..

The Prairies have seen significant moisture in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, causing an improvement in drought conditions.

And while average to above-average precipitation was received in northern parts of the Prairies, drought conditions remain prevalent, he says, including the Peace River region, northern Saskatchewan as well as much of Manitoba.

“The southern Prairies are doing fairly well, they’re recovering. We’ve seen significant improvement there,” he adds.

The current drought situation, though, is still impacting water supplies and feed availability in pastures, he says, adding moisture that has been received now isn’t necessarily beneficial until next year.

As autumn nears, forecasts from Environment and Climate Change Canada are calling for warmer than normal temperatures across Canada through the fall period, especially throughout southern and coastal B.C. and parts of Atlantic Canada. Forecasts are also seeing above normal precipitation for B.C. and southern Alberta, says Hadwen, with below normal precipitation in Atlantic regions.

“Overall based on that forecast, we’re seeing that conditions throughout British Columbia should improve – they’re receiving warmer than normal conditions but wetter than normal conditions,” but the warmer conditions may lead to less snowpack earlier in the fall, raising concerns about drought for next spring, he says.

Nationally, Hadwen expects to see some recovery but not necessarily significant recovery during the fall period.

Share this story: