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Humboldt area faced severe drought conditions in May: Canadian Drought Monitor

HUMBOLDT — Humboldt and its immediate area faced more severe drought conditions in May compared to many of its east central neighbours, according to the Canadian Drought Monitor’s monthly report.
Canadian Drought Monitor May 32
According to a map released by the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Canadian Drought Monitor on June 8, Humboldt and area faced severe drought conditions in May. Dark brown on the map is severe drought, light brown is moderate drought and yellow is abnormally dry. Map by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

HUMBOLDT — Humboldt and its immediate area faced more severe drought conditions in May compared to many of its east central neighbours, according to the Canadian Drought Monitor’s monthly report.

The May 31 report has classified an area that starts from the Middle Lake waterbody in the north, goes to Simpson in the south, starts in Bruno in the west and to just west of St. Gregor in the east as facing severe drought.

The rest of the region outside that bubble is facing moderate drought.

“Although Saskatchewan saw improved drought conditions, water supply and water quality are still a concern in many regions. Precipitation through the month provided much needed moisture for pastures to green up, however, spring dryness delayed progress significantly,” the report said.

“Long-term impacts, including poor water supply from the 2020 growing season, continued to impact drought across the agricultural areas of Saskatchewan.”

Humboldt has received 15.5 millimetres of precipitation in May, according to data from Environment Canada. The average amount of rain in May over the last five years is 21.4 mm.

In the first 10 days of June, there has been 14.2 mm of precipitation. From 2016 to 2020 the June average has been 70.4 mm, with the most being 120.7 mm in 2019 and the least 33.7 mm in 2018.