Water Supply Outlook for Alberta

June 2003

May 2003 Precipitation

Above-normal to much-above-normal precipitation was recorded during May in most southern plains areas and in the Fort McMurray area. Normal precipitation was recorded in the Edmonton, Cold Lake, Fort Chipewyan and Peace River areas. Below normal to much-below-normal precipitation was recorded in the remainder of the province (Figure 1). In southern Alberta, areas in and along the foothills recorded much-below-normal precipitation and the remaining plains areas recorded generally much-above-normal precipitation (Figure 2). Convective precipitation occurred throughout much of Alberta, with many localized areas of higher precipitation amounts (Figure 3).
 

Winter Precipitation (November 1, 2002 to April 30, 2003)

Most of the province received normal to much-above-normal precipitation during the winter with the exception of southeastern areas and the northern third of the province which received below-normal to much-below-normal precipitation (Figure 4). In southern Alberta, below-normal to much-below-normal precipitation was received in areas south of Claresholm and east of Drumheller except for the Empress area which received much-above-normal precipitation. Normal to much-above-normal precipitation was recorded north of Claresholm and west of Drumheller (Figure 5). The bulk of winter precipitation fell in the mountains, foothills and generally the central third of the province (Figure 6).
 

Fall Precipitation (September 1 to October 31, 2002)

Below-normal to much-below-normal precipitation was recorded north of Red Deer in the September and October 2002 period, except for the Fort Chipewyan and Peace regions where precipitation was much-above-normal (Figure 7). Areas south of Red Deer recorded above-normal to much-above-normal precipitation (Figure 8). The least precipitation recorded was in east-central Alberta (Figure 9).

Soil moisture going into winter is below-normal to much-below-normal north of Calgary. South of Calgary, soil moisture is generally normal to above-normal, especially west of Lethbridge and east of Medicine Hat. A map of fall soil moisture is available from Alberta Agriculture at:
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/cl5882/$FILE/fall02.pdf

 

Long-Lead Precipitation Outlook

Environment Canada's long-lead precipitation forecast issued on June 1, 2003 for this summer (June through August) is for above-normal precipitation in central areas of Alberta, and normal precipitation elsewhere. The long-lead forecast for the fall period (September through November) is above-normal precipitation throughout the province. Environment Canada's long-lead precipitation outlook is available from their website located at: http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/saisons/index_e.html.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) long-lead precipitation forecast issued on May 15, 2003 is for an equal chance of normal, below-normal or above-normal precipitation for the summer and fall (June to November) for southern Alberta. NOAA's long-lead precipitation outlook is available from their website located at: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/90day/.


For technical enquires about this web page please contact Alberta Environment - Environmental Management Water Management Operations Branch at AENV-WebWS@gov.ab.ca