From ‘fickle fall’ to white-out winter, the latest forecasts for Sask. are in

The organization said winter may appear to taunt Canadians across the country as they face periods of very cold weather in the fall, but the season should end on a mild note because of El Niño.

“Generally, in most El Niño falls, we get an early blast of cold weather in the middle of fall and as you’re experiencing, it can be a bit of a slap in the face. But then the weather pattern flips over later in the season,” said chief meteorologist Chris Scott.”

When it comes to the Prairies, Scott predicts a few snowstorms that will rage across the Prairie provinces in the middle of fall, cutting short the region’s harvest season.

“However, as we flip towards the latter half of November into December when we typically can get some of our coldest weather of the entire year … it looks like the season should balance out to be slightly above normal in the Prairies,” Scott said.

Farmers will certainly be watching the skies over the coming months as they wrap up harvest and get ready for the winter ahead.

The Managing Editor for the Old Farmers Almanac of Canada, Jack Burnett, also provided his outlook on the fall and winter seasons. He said while some may not want to hear this news, their forecast map shows a lot of white.

(Old Farmers Almanac of Canada)

“Let’s hope for snow, let’s hope for a real snowy winter,” he said.

“We want to try and get as much water into the ground as possible this winter, at least sitting on top of the ground.”

Burnett added that there’s a two-fold reason for this, one is to make sure there is enough water for farmers to help with their crops next year. This past season, drought conditions affected many fields.

Several regions in the province received well below the average amount of precipitation last season.

Moose Jaw was hit the hardest as the area has only received 37 per cent of its normal precipitation from September to July. After that, Kindersley was at 46 per cent, Outlook at 48 per cent, and Yorkton at 49 per cent.

Burnett also touched on the threat of wildfires as the country continues to suffer under its worst wildfire season on record. As of Sept. 19, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said there are 30 active wildfires in the province and 449 recorded this year alone.

Burnett said having a large amount of precipitation means more water in the ground.

“The more water you get on the ground, the less chance there is for fires to take hold on the ground,” he said.

When it comes to fall, Burnett said the coming weeks are a mixed bag of conditions with some parts of the province being a little cooler and wetter and other areas like the central and eastern parts of the province could see average temperatures.

Winter will be a whole other story as Burnett anticipates the first real intense shots of cold will hit by mid-November with a big snowfall forecasted for the week of November 6.

Other major snowfall is forecasted to hit at the beginning of February and the last week of March with some precipitation possibly falling in April.

“Whereas the cold seems to be front-loaded a little bit by the middle of February, the snow is more spread out,” he said.

“The bottom line is we see a colder winter with more precipitation and that precipitation being in the form of snow.”

There is some good news for those already dreading the cold fall and winter seasons, they are expected to end on a mild note in time for spring.

-With files from The Canadian Press, 650 CKOM, and FarmNewsNow

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

by Derek Craddock

From ‘fickle fall’ to white-out winter, the latest forecasts for Sask. are in

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