Slow and soggy: significant rainfall expected till Thursday
A large portion of Saskatchewan will likely be covered in rain clouds that are expected to drop 20-40 millimetres of rain beginning today and lasting until early Thursday morning.
Environment Canada meteorologist John Paul Craig said the east central and southeastern portions will see the most rainfall — between 20 mm and 40 mm — but Saskatoon and areas to the southwest can also expect to get between 20 mm and 25 mm over the two-day period.
Craig said this is considered a significant rainfall event, but the amount of precipitation paired with the extended period of time will make problems like localized flooding and the backup of storm drains less likely than they would be during the intense rain from thunderstorms that brings most of Saskatchewan’s precipitation in June.
“We are not looking at a high intensity rainfall,” he said. “With a rainfall like this, you’ve got rain falling slowly over a two-day period, so the intensity is not that high. If the ground is pretty dry, it should be able to soak it up, but if you’ve got wet areas with a rainfall like this then that’s when you get into trouble.”
Because this rainfall event is expected to cover a large portion of the province, it’s an interesting change from June’s regular precipitation patterns, Craig said.
“What’s a little more uncommon is the fact that this is going to be a big area of low pressure dumping a lot of rain over a wide area ... we usually get one or two of these low pressure systems every summer, but it’s not a terribly common occurrence.”
Shannon Friesen, crop management specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, said with seeding wrapping up this week there isn’t a more perfect time for the rain to fall.
“This time of year we would certainly welcome some rain ... our crops have been behind in terms of growth, mainly due to lack of moisture and of course some cooler conditions and strong winds. So this is the optimal time for rain to come.”
Average rainfall for Saskatoon in June has been calculated at 65.8 mm, although Craig said this calculation “doesn’t accurately reflect how much variation there is from one June to the next.” The city has only seen 0.6 mm of rain so far this month.
“We’ve been very dry this month in the last couple of weeks,” Friesen said. “So ideally, 20-40 mm would be pretty much perfect for a lot of producers in the province.”