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davidpeaceriver__2b

Are we in a drought?

Total precip for the last three months: 0, 9, and 5 mm. This is the driest May I’ve seen in ages, and nothing’s in the forecast. Is anyone else coping with deserty conditions?

Comments (14)

  • wayne
    4 years ago

    Yes, about the same here, there is still moisture but my lawn is crunchy. Last year near the end of seeding we got 3" in one shot, we will need something similar again.

  • Collin 2b Regina
    4 years ago

    I'd go one farther. We had the first significant rain of the year at 8mm. The lawn is patchy. The trees ain't happy period. Going into the 3rd year of drought.

  • mntreegrower
    4 years ago

    I wish I could give you guys some of my rain here in Minnesota. 3.6" for me last week. Another 3/4" today. More on Wednesday with "locally heavy rains possible." And some places not far from me received much more than that. I can't get my crop in the ground again until I get 3 dry days in a row. That won't happen for weeks, maybe longer, it sounds.

  • davidpeaceriver__2b
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    I’m envious. Total precip in June: 5mm. Total for the year: 41mm. Rain is in the forecast this week, but we’ve been promised that before...

  • ubro
    4 years ago

    Our drought just ended yesterday, finally we can breath a sigh of relief and watch the hay land recoup.

  • Collin 2b Regina
    4 years ago

    Nada. The big rain forecast was a bust here. We've had scant 2 mm and then one rain shower that had 8mm. For the entire year. Come, take a look at how grumpy my lawn is! lol The only thing growing are broadleaved weeds. My guess is they are the only ones that can uptake enough morning dew to make a go of it. Weeds or bare dirt. What a choice!

  • ubro
    4 years ago

    That is where we were last week Collin, and I think if it were not for the dandelions my lawn would have been a brown mass. A bigger fear, since we live in the boreal forest, was the fire risk. We were always on pins and needles as one mistake has huge consequences.

  • weeper_11
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Yes, we are in our third year of drought. We had no more than 12 mm total since March up until 2 days ago. We've got 2 inches of rain in the past 2 days which is wonderful and will help our crop for sure, but it is simply not nearly enough for our cattle pastures and hay land. After 2 previous years of drought and not enough snow, all the reserve moisture has been depleted, pastures are overgrazed, and we are having to buy hay further and further away (at higher and higher prices) to feed our cows through winter. We will likely have to sell some cows this fall.

    Our lawn is totally blond and crunchy, the only thing growing is alfalfa (we don't really have "lawn grass" lol)...even the dandelions have quit. Trees are OK for now, although not the poplars. From previous years, we have some permanent dieback on mature trees, and I see some of our most beautiful poplars have sections that are turning yellow already. Sigh.

    The only thing I'm watering are the flower beds, and trying to get around to the newer planted trees (planted within the past 5 years) every now and then. I've drip lined the fruit trees a few time, but unfortunately not enough...they bloomed heavily but most of the fruit has aborted.

    We have a lot of native pasture in our area (naturally on the drier side) and it is a huge fire risk.

    Unfortunately the rains can just be so localized. If you go 15 min in any direction, while they are still dry, they've got an inch of rain here and there that missed us. We live in a sad little area, during dry years! I call it the Bermuda triangle of hell, we seem to miss everything good lol. We are even in our own little crop insurance zone, because we get different (read: worse) weather than the surrounding areas!

  • wayne
    4 years ago

    I am glad that you got some rain weeper, hopefully more to come. Going by the radar it appeared that most of the grain belt had got rain but they tend to be off.

  • Collin 2b Regina
    4 years ago

    Yes I've found the rains have been very localized. Usually they have missed us. But over the last couple of days my rain gauge registered 58mm. For the first time in several years my lawn is growing. The wild plums took the rain and put out 18" of new growth. They are flopping over because of too much new verses old growth. Judging how quickly the puddles soaked up I think the ground could absorb more. Since this is the third year of drought for us, I am just enjoying the moment.

  • davidpeaceriver__2b
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    We are at 10mm of precip for the month even with recent rains.

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    4 years ago

    Am in a rain shadow here, especially so when rains approach from the west, though this year storms have been coming from all directions and we did receive decent adequate spring moisture. Then came the big dump of a few days go, got somewhere around 4 inches! A bit much for the garden, but it drains very well being on a substantial slope. Now, if only we'd have the heat kick in, garden is developing slowly, birch trees are happy though!

  • davidpeaceriver__2b
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    It's rained a bit over the past few days, but even with more rain in the forecast, we'll still be at maybe a third to a half the usual rainfall for June. I've seen about 75% fruit drop from my trees even with supplemental watering.

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