Soil moisture levels remain below normal across Manitoba: report

As of Monday evening, the level at the James Avenue gauge was sitting at 8.68 feet -- the lowest it’s been since late September. (Source: Scott Andersson/ CTV News Winnipeg)

WINNIPEG -

A new report from the province says soil moisture levels at the time of freeze-up are below average across most of Manitoba.

The information comes from the 2021 Fall Conditions Report recently released by Manitoba Infrastructure's Hydrologic Forecast Centre.

"The fall conditions report informs us of the hydrologic conditions of Manitoba basins at the time of freeze-up," said Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler in a news release. "Hydrologic and weather conditions in the winter and spring are the main influences that affect the risk and extent of low or high water events."

The report said most river basins in the province received below-normal precipitation between May and October and above-normal temperatures in the summer and fall months.

Because of a slight increase in precipitation in November, the report said soil moisture at the time of freeze-up for most Manitoba basins is generally near normal to below normal.

The report states most of the major lakes in Manitoba, except for Lake Manitoba, are at below normal to well-below normal levels for this time of the year but within their operating ranges. Lake Manitoba is below its operating range and at near-record-low levels for this time of year.

It notes long-term weather outlooks from Environment and Climate Change Canada and the U.S. National Weather Service Climate Prediction Centre indicate the development of La Nina weather conditions globally.

According to the report, La Nina weather conditions generally favour normal to below-normal precipitation for most Manitoba basins, with a slight chance of above-normal precipitation in northern Manitoba.

The Hydrologic Forecast Centre said it will continue monitoring Manitoba basin conditions throughout the winter and spring.

The centre said spring runoff is still strongly dependent on future weather conditions, including the amount of winter and spring precipitation, as well as snowmelt conditions.