Lack of precipitation dominated meteorological spring

With meteorological spring ending on May 31, an overarching theme this season has been the dry weather.

While there has been some wet weather in eastern Newfoundland over the past month, it’s been a much drier and brighter season in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Looking at precipitation throughout March, April and May, much of the region is well below average.

In fact, these locations recorded only 40 to 65 per cent of their average seasonal precipitation:

March–may Precipitation

• St. John’s: 235.4 mm (Average: 367.7 mm)

• Sydney: 207.2 mm (Average 366.5 mm)

• Fredericton: 157.4 mm (Average: 275.3 mm)

• Halifax Stanfield: 153.4 mm (Average: 346.5 mm)

• Charlottetown: 135.3 mm (Average: 261 mm) April was the drier month of the three and the driest

on record in Halifax, Sydney, Moncton and Gander. This dry spell extends back into the previous winter

season too.

A precipitation anomaly map provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada shows most of the Maritime provinces only recorded 45 to 60 percent of their average precipitation during the four months and between 45 and 90 percent across Newfoundland.

Temperature-wise, we balanced out near average. March was near to above normal, with near-normal conditions in April and near to below-normal temperatures in May.

Turning the page and entering meteorological summer has brought some much-needed rain, with parts of Nova Scotia receiving more rain in the last few days than April and May combined.

However, we’re nearing a period where summer precipitation patterns are often variable, and there’s no clear projection for the summer ahead.

As summer prepares to take the driver’s seat, we must get ready for the months ahead.