Some of the drought areas in the Canadian Prairies were blessed with a longer and drawn-out storm system this week that continues Friday. Lots of areas have seen more than 20 millimeters (0.8 inches) and there were pockets scattered throughout the region that saw more than 30 millimeters (1.2 inches).

Some smaller areas saw heavier precipitation amounts with a small area east of Vermillion, Alberta, and another just west of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, checking in with more than 50 millimeters (2 inches). Some areas saw less than 10 millimeters (0.4 inches); but overall, it was a good soaking. It did come with some limited snowfall in Alberta and Saskatchewan as well, but that is not expected to stick around and much of it has already melted.

After a short break on Saturday, the next system will be quickly moving into the region late Sunday and is forecast to be another long and drawn-out storm system as it settles in the northern U.S. for several days. A wave of showers is likely to burst northward into the region Monday and waves of energy rotating around the storm center should help keep showers active through May 8 before the storm continues eastward and the rain gets pulled south into the U.S.

The character and track of this storm favor areas in the deepest drought on March's North American Drought Monitor released in early April. The next update is not expected until late next week, but precipitation in April has been good enough to ease some of the drought.

The coming rainfall should be heaviest across eastern Alberta and western Saskatchewan where the drought is in the D3-D4 range. Models are forecasting a range of about 40-100 millimeters (1.6-4 inches) in much of this area. Large portions of the rest of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are more in line to see 20-50 millimeters (0.8-2 inches), while the Peace region and northwestern Alberta may not see much of anything. There may be enough cold air around for some snow to mix in across Alberta in a couple of spots, but this should be warm enough for mostly rain.

This type of soaking rain will certainly fill soil moisture up through a large portion of the column, especially when adding it to this past week's rainfall. However, it is going to keep fields muddy and hard to work. Producers may wait a bit to get much work done, and they may get a break in that regard. After May 8, the pattern changes to a much more subdued one. Systems still move through, but they're more likely to be clippers from the northwest than the large systems moving up from the south with heavy rain. Limited rain should be expected for mid-May, allowing wet soils to drain and prepping for planting with good moisture in most areas. The northwest flow does bring in colder air.

However, the bulk of that cold will be farther east. Areas near the mountains and across the north may end up with near or even above-normal temperatures by late next week. Winds may be a bit stiff at times, though, with those clippers. Still, after a few wet weeks, we should see some more manageable weather conditions popping up for spring planting. Although some areas may need to wait due to wetness, those that have been lucky enough to get out there early and others that aren't too wet, should have good soil moisture for early growth.

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John Baranick can be reached at john.baranick@dtn.com

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