STORM2K

Should be about 1 person posting here. ;D

Had to post that our farm, as of yesterday, has received 8 1/2 inches of rain (in the past couple of weeks). We had another downpour today so am interested in finding out what the current total is. Most of the farm (2 1/2 sections) has been planted but 340 acres haven't been (every time its almost dry enough it rains again). That area is at the base of the Blue Hills and continues to get run off. Just as well it wasn't planted yet since the seeds would rot (crossing fingers and toes the tap turns off now for a couple of weeks).

I can't remember the last time we had this much rain (we are a semi-arid region). We also had good rains in the fall and reasonable snow cover.....underground water is definitely looking good). Should mention Saskatchewan doesn't use underground water sources to irrigate though.

Found a recent article re the rain we have recently been receiving...the tap can turn off now please (i'm sure our farm has received another 2 inches + since I last posted) and we would be very appreciative of some heat:

Too much rain a 'disaster' for some Sask. farmers
Last Updated: Thursday, June 10, 2010 | 5:06 PM CST Comments67Recommend33
CBC News
Saskatchewan farmers are behind in seeding for 2010 because of excess moisture in fields. (CBC)
The Saskatchewan rural municipalities of Connaught and Tisdale have passed resolutions declaring themselves "agricultural disaster areas" because of excessively wet soil conditions that have impeded seeding of crops.

The communities are about 200 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

According to local officials, only 45 per cent of the expected crop in the area has been seeded, which is far less than the amount farmers hoped would be seeded by this time of year.

Timing is critical in agriculture as crops must develop enough to be harvested before damaging frosts in the fall.

As seeding is delayed, farmers are left with fewer options for what to plant and face a greater risk of late-developing crops.

A declaration of an agricultural disaster does not trigger any formal actions by government. However, it does signal the gravity of the situation in the eyes of local authorities.

According to the provincial government, about 70 per cent of Saskatchewan's 44,000 farmers have completed their seeding work for 2010. That is well short of the five-year average of 96 per cent by this time of year.

The Agriculture Ministry said that western regions of the province made the most progress on seeding during the past week.

Officials noted that soil conditions are wet across the province because of an unusually rainy spring.

Bob Bjornerud, Saskatchewan's minister of agriculture, has been touring areas hit with excessive rain.

"This spring has been frustrating for many farmers who are trying to get their crops seeded," Bjornerud said in a news release Thursday. "Seeing the wet conditions first-hand gives me a better grasp of the challenges producers in these areas are facing."

The opposition NDP issued a news release Thursday calling for special compensation to help farmers affected by the heavy rains.

NDP Leader Dwain Lingenfelter, citing media reports that suggested as much as five million acres of farmland might be left unseeded, said affected farmers should receive a payment of $100 per acre.

"This is a financial disaster for farm families," said Lingenfelter, who is the opposition agriculture critic, in the news release.

"If the Harper Conservative government in Ottawa can find over a billion dollars to waste on security for an international summit, it can get to work with the provincial government in Regina to develop a plan to help our rural communities in crisis."

According to recent statistics, Saskatchewan has about 64 million acres of farmland, and, depending on the farm, roughly 36 million acres are used for crops. The rest of the farmland might be in summer fallow or used as pasture.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/s ... z0qcdbqemq

Other articles mention that this is the most rain we've received in 50 to 60 years (according to old timer's memories....not sure if I've seen an official record stating that).

A tornado hit the tiny town of Briercrest (near our farm). One house had its roof torn off and a number of sheds took to the air. No one was hurt.

A farmer very close to our farm also took to the air (he is a pilot however and a crop duster) and dropped seeds from the sky over his muddy fields. That is a very expensive experiment since the plane can only seed 15 acres at a time (helps that he is the pilot and owner of the plane however).
Speaking of which:

12:15 UK, 11th June 2010, by Agrimoney.com

Rain-plagued Canada farmers take to the air
The heavy rains in Canada, which have revived canola and spring wheat prices, are forcing some growers to resort to take to the air to finish seedings, while threatening others with a wipeout.

Growers in Saskatchewan, which produces nearly half of Canada's canola and wheat crops, have on average nearly one-third of their 2010 crops left to seed.

However, in eastern areas, where "there has been very little farming activity for a few weeks", some farmers have only 5% of their crop in the ground, and with the window for plantings nearly closed.

"Some producers are indicating that, by the time the land can support equipment, it will be too late to seed anything," a report from Saskatchewan government farm officials said.

'Large tyre ruts'

The poor conditions, caused by rainfall of up to 11 inches over the last two months, are prompting growers to turn to fast-maturing crop varieties, or leaving land fallow.

"Working in the wet fields is difficult. Sprayers are getting stock and leaving large tyre ruts," the briefing said, reporting that growers were increasingly resorting to spraying from aircraft to avoid damaging fields.

In neighbouring Manitoba, officials reported that "aerial seeding has been used in some areas", a technique usually associated with extreme conditions, and which tends to produce lower yields.

Meanwhile, crops already in the ground are suffering from the wet conditions, with an "increasing number of fields showing symptoms of water stress" in Manitoba, and 10-60% of crops in parts of the east of the province exhibiting yellowing symptoms.

Estimate cuts

The reports come as analysts are cutting by more than 500,000 acres their forecasts for Canada's canola plantings, which had been expected to rise by 4% to 6.8m hectares, according to official data.

Some 1m acres of spring wheat sowings have yet to be sown, according to US broker Benson Quinn Commodities.

The revisions have fostered a rise of 6% in Canadian canola prices this month, which closed on Thursday at Can$394.00 a month for July delivery, a five-month high for the spot contract.

They have also fostered an outperformance by wheat prices in Minneapolis, the home of dealing in US spring wheat, over those in Chicago, which trades the soft red winter variety.

http://www.agrimoney.com/news/rain-plag ... -1833.html

We are now left with the option of planting flax, red spring wheat or, if the rains continue, winter wheat (a little later in the season) on the remaining unseeded water logged acres.

Oh how true:

Cloudy Regina weather could be causing you to feel down


By PAMELA COWAN, Leader-PostJune 11, 2010

REGINA — Feeling grumpy?

Blame it on the weather.

As the rain continues to fall, so can one's mood, said Jackie Just who has a psychology degree and is employed by the Schizophrenia Society of Saskatchewan.

"Vitamin D helps with our overall health, which can impact our emotions as well," she said. "What also comes into play is seasonal affective disorder, which makes individuals at certain periods of time tend to feel more depressed. Some individuals may go through some depression in the winter. Rainy days — where you can't get outside to exercise or do your normal activities — can affect your mood."

Just gets more client calls or visits when the weather is poor.

"If you already have clinical depression or a mood disorder, these cloudy days can make things much more gloomy for you," she said.

Just observed weather is a popular topic of conversation in Saskatchewan.

"When the weather is poor, we tend to talk about how depressing it is," she said. "When you talk about how awful something is, that can also bring you down."

Environment Canada's senior climatologist David Phillips believes mood is linked to weather. Phillips said Environment Canada has fan clubs in some parts of Canada, but he wouldn't expect a warm welcome in Saskatchewan.

Climatologists wouldn't set foot in Saskatchewan right now — we'd be taking our lives in our hands," he said laughing. "I know it's miserable, and psychologically, what a downer it is for both rural and urban people ... If it's not raining, it's looking like rain and we often use that line to describe Vancouver."

Vancouverites take the rain in stride because they expect it, he said."

You guys don't — you are one of the driest, sunniest places in the country," Phillips said. "When you get lots of rain and lots of days with rain — it takes a psychological toll. Sunshine is probably one of the most uplifting things about the weather.""

Since Regina's weather statistics were first recorded in the 1880s, Phillips said several records have been set recently.

"You went through the driest February-March on record ... it was bone dry," he said.

Regina also recorded the wettest spring this year.

"You had 178.1 millimetres of precipitation in April and May — the previous wettest was back in 1902 when it was 175.3 millimetres," Phillips said. "In April, that was good because you needed it. It's hard to describe anything decent about May. Temperatures were 2 1/2 degrees colder than normal and you had 133 millimetres of rain and you'd normally get about 52."

Last year, from April to June 11, Regina recorded 96 millimetres of rain, Phillips said.

"This year, from April 1 to June 11, you've had 199 — 100 millimetres more precipitation than last year and about eight more wet days," he said.

Normally, June is Regina's wettest month.

"Maybe this year, you had your wettest month in May," Phillips said.

He noted its rained at least 14 of the last 24 days and temperatures have hovered around the 15- to- 16-degree mark. But he's predicting a silver lining in the week ahead.

"It looks like a dry and sunny weekend and then as far as we can see into next week, I don't see any mention of rain — just sunshine and temperatures that are close to normal," Phillips said. "This will improve people's spirits and make them feel less grumpy."

His long-term forecast of a warmer than normal summer is also a ray of sunshine.

"Don't write the obituary on this spring quite yet as being the coolest, the most miserable and wettest on record," Phillips said. "The weather you're cursing right now may be the weather you're blessing later on."

A bit further east, the water levels were very low this May (record low in fact).

Must admit I was pleased to see the rains (even though we got too much) since many areas of Saskatchewan re south and west were in dire straights re drought prior to the arrival of the deluge. Its wonderful to see dugouts that were empty now full to the brim (though other farmers, where rain wasn't needed in that amount, are not sharing my happiness....including my farmer :S). Rivers here are running to the top of their banks as well (haven't seen that for a number of years .

Alberta's horrendous drought has also come to an end I'm sure.

We are more than happy for the moisture that has landed but its welcome came to an end ( more than awhile ago for some) so it's definitely time for it to head in a more easterly direction! (please)

Glad to hear you have been relieved by the rains. We have too here is SE TX, but it won't take a lot for us to head back into too much dryness and not enough wetness. BTW, could you use some heat? I'll be glad to turn the fans towards the North.

SaskatchewanScreamer wrote:Must admit I was pleased to see the rains (even though we got too much) since many areas of Saskatchewan re south and west were in dire straights re drought prior to the arrival of the deluge. Its wonderful to see dugouts that were empty now full to the brim (though other farmers, where rain wasn't needed in that amount, are not sharing my happiness....including my farmer :S). Rivers here are running to the top of their banks as well (haven't seen that for a number of years .

Alberta's horrendous drought has also come to an end I'm sure.

We are more than happy for the moisture that has landed but its welcome came to an end ( more than awhile ago for some) so it's definitely time for it to head in a more easterly direction! (please)

Not a chance...

Hmmmmmm neither one of you fellows are out to make my day! *sniff*

LOL at vbhoutex's offer to send Texas heat up here (do you think I'm out of my mind)!!!! We've had tastes of that before, like about 7 of out the past 10 summers (I want a summer with daytime temps at the highest in the low eighties and deliciously cool nights in the 60's.....the summer days of my childhood). oh and a decent rain at least once a week.

We have the coldest winters on this continent (well almost....we sure come close to Inuvik more often than I'd like to remember).....please it just isn't fair to hit both extremes!

Nick sooner or later it will make it to you (summer has just begun

I'll gladly take some of the rain. The river/lakes levels have never been so low.

And tommorow is the last significant rain forecasted for this spring.

Southern Saskatchewan might receive up to 100mm(4 inches) of rain tommorow night

I have a bad feeling about this...stay safe.

On the other hand...

Boat stuck...



http://www.meteomedia.com/your_weather/details/998/2796309/1/caqc0363?ref=ugc_city_thumbs

Nick I won't print what I said when I read the above (I've been avoiding looking/listening to the weather forecast). Today I went in to pay the crop hail insurance (I also won't say what I said when they told me the price of it either ). Odds are great we will get hail given the amount of moisture that will be transpiring here once things heat up (another reason to pray that vbhoutex's fan is working at 1/4 speed). A tiny bit of heat is great but a true Texas blast with accompanying humidity would be so dangerous to our poor struggling crops this summer.

I really can't believe your area is that dry (you are truly getting Saskatchewan's and Alberta's normal May weather) but the proof sure is in the above picture.

p.s. please send that boat out west (I think we are going to need it).

And Mother Nature and God turn a deaf ear to prairie peeps prayers....

Still waiting for that boats arrival Nick!!!!!

Looking at the postings here re the severe storm/flash flood warnings for the Dakotas and Minnesota made me go looking for what the Canadian weather network is posting (pictures of fields here, seen at the link below, show an amazing resemblence to a lake):

Rain isn't letting up in the Prairies
Andrea Stockton, staff writer

June 16, 2010 — Another low pressure system has moved into the Prairies for what meteorologists are calling a 'long-lived rain event.'

If you can believe it, more rain is expected to drench the Prairie provinces. That's all the region has seen over the past week, and it's not getting any easier for farmers to deal with.

The spring started out on a hot and dry note, which posed concerns about possible droughts. But the recent heavy rain has changed these early predictions significantly.

Farmers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are calling this one of the worst seasons for their crops. Both provinces saw heavy amounts of rain in April and June, including one storm that washed out fields and flooded parts of Winnipeg. More than 30 rural municipalities in Saskatchewan have declared themselves 'agricultural disaster areas' due to the wet conditions.

And it's only going to get worse, thanks to some embedded thunderstorms today.

“We're looking at scattered severe thunderstorms this evening in both Manitoba and North Dakota,” says Brian Dillon, a meteorologist here at The Weather Network. “They'll be fueled by the heat.”

Dillon says he is not ruling out the possibility of tornadic activity.

“It's possible, but more likely south of the border,” he explains.

So when will the soakings stop?

The Weather Network's meteorologist Chris Scott says that's currently the big question. “After the big rainmaker this week, the weather pattern will become more typical for mid to late June as we head into next week. That means that scattered thunderstorms will be common, and there will be some areas that receive locally heavy rain and possibly severe weather, but we likely won’t see the large sprawling areas of rainfall which have caused the widespread problems over recent weeks,“ writes Scott in his new Weather Network blog.

For local weather forecasts in your area, click our Canadian Cities Index. You can also find out more about the rain in the Prairies by tuning into The Weather Network on TV. The National Forecast comes up at the top and bottom of each hour.

With files from Lyndsay Morrison, Jill Colton and Lisa Varano




http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/s ... _top_title

Thinking about being nasty now......photograph of a small funnel is to be seen in the link)
http://www.discovermoosejaw.com/index.p ... Itemid=399

additional photos can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... 145&ref=pb

Funnel Clouds; Storms Possible
Thursday, 17 June 2010

Funnel Cloud spotted north of Moose Jaw at 5:20pm Thursday. Photo Courtesy: Jamey Logan

Residents of the north end of Moose Jaw were on edge as they watched funnel clouds form, get bigger and threaten to touch down late Thursday afternoon. Environment Canada didn't issue a severe weather watch for the Moose Jaw region until after the clouds had formed.

Callers claim several funnel clouds were seen between 5:00pm and 5:30pm, but Environment Canada says none of them actually touched down.

These types of funnel clouds form out of large cumulus clouds, or very weak thunderstorms. Normally, they don't have the energy to reach the ground. Environment Canada tells us conditions are just right for them to form and say they're monitoring the situation closely.

The weather office says funnel clouds that do form shouldn't be too severe, and that it's unlikely tornadoes will develop. Of course, we should always be cautious.

Severe Thunderstorm Watches are in effect for Moose Jaw, Assiniboia, Gravelbourg, Coronach and much of southeast Saskatchewan. Rain, hail and funnel clouds are possible.

If you see severe weather give us a call at 693-NEWS or send us a photo to mjnews@goldenwestradio.com

You can click here to see an album of severe weather developing north of Moose Jaw late Thursday afternoon. Photos were submitted by Garrett Bradish.

Another funnel cloud by Rosetown, Saskatchewan:
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_w ... /2740483/1

and another one, trying its best, by Canora, Saskatchewan: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_w ... /1/upload/

A video of Kindersley, Saskatchewan looking very, very wet: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_w ... /2814557/1
with additional pics of other *slightly* damp areas of this province.

The TransCanada Highway or #1 is currently under floodwater: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_w ... /0/upload/

My daughter was going to leave Alberta (near Calgary) and come home this weekend but was told the highway was closed down. I never thought I'd see the day our major Canadian transportation route would be shut down due to flooding in the two *normally* driest provinces in Canada.