The Saskatchewan River carries water south through Medicine Hat. Senorgogophotography/Dreamstime.com

By Eli J. Ridder

Drought conditions in Medicine Hat averted for now but experts remain cautious

Jun 13, 2024 | 5:11 PM

Severe drought conditions were curtailed over the months of April and May in a way that beat expectations and boosted reservoirs near Medicine Hat but conditions could still change suddenly, experts told CHAT News on Thursday.

Medicine Hat and the area around it shifted from a status of severe drought that lasted from January to April to a status of no drought in May, according to public data from the federal government.

Trevor Hadwen, an agroclimate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada who works with that data, explained extreme dry conditions carried into last fall and, with a relatively dry winter, there was no chance for a proper recovery until spring.

Comparison between April 2024 and the end of May 2024. Courtesy: Federal drought analysis

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“May and June represent the wet period of the year so we expect more precipitation during that period, and that period really has the chance to change from a drought condition into a more normal condition,” Hadwen told CHAT News.

“And that’s what we saw this year.”

That’s been a boost for the reservoirs in southern Alberta that will remove some of that pressure.

READ: May rain brings some relief to Alberta but water storage remains low

“We got the water supply back to a level that we can deal with on a more reliable basis,” Hadwen said.

“They’re still not full, but we’re not in the crisis situation that we were in two, three months ago.”

Medicine Hat’s director of environmental utilities Jamie Garland told CHAT News in late April that Medicine Hat was en route to having its driest summer since 2001.

Meanwhile, the province and regional water management organizations rang alarm bells over potentially devastating drought conditions.

After rain pelted Medicine Hat, Cypress County and large swathes of southern Alberta, an official with the St. Mary River Irrigation District said there was improved soil moisture but there remained significant storage deficits.

“We will need more precipitation events in June to really relieve some of the pressure,” irrigation general manager David Westwood said at the time.

Garland on Thursday said May rain impacted the summer’s outlook but echoed Hadwen’s assertion that drought conditions could still come into play.

“Environment Canada’s still predicting a hotter and dryer June to August period and the critical reservoirs upstream of us are still below normal,” Garland said.

Jamie Garland spoke on CHAT News at Noon on Thursday. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

Garland pointed out the City of Medicine Hat’s water conservation status remains at Phase 1 and has not been lowered. Phase 1 includes voluntary water conservation measures.

June has so far featured less rain than in May but lots of warm temperature days could help the agriculture industry, according to Hadwen.

“Right now, we need some warmth to get those crops really moving,” Hadwen said.

What will really make the difference to avoid dipping back into drought conditions for Medicine Hat will be rain spread out across July and August, typically the driest months in Alberta, he explained.

“Continued timely rains throughout the season would certainly benefit the crops.”