March in La Ronge was the driest on record since precipitation levels were first documented 53 years ago. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Record Breaker

March was driest on record in La Ronge

Apr 5, 2019 | 4:57 PM

Like many communities across the province, La Ronge broke a record for lack of precipitation in March.

“La Ronge came in with 2.4 millimeters of rain compared to 21.2 millimeters (on average),” Environment and Climate Change Canada Meteorologist Terri Lang said. “That made it the driest March in 53 years of records.”

It was dry all around the province, however, as Lang stated Estevan and Moose Jaw had the least amount of precipitation with only 0.2 millimeters. Prince Albert was the fifth driest with 2.4 millimeters. At the weather stations in those communities, Lang noted, precipitation records go back much further than in La Ronge.

Lang attributed the lack of precipitation to the location of the jet stream, which was much further North than usual. Since weather systems tend to follow the jet stream, she said parts of Saskatchewan only got precipitation as it was moving through. Since March is usually a time of transition between seasons, precipitation either falls as snow or rain.

christmas spirit

Santa Claus Parade marks a first for La Ronge

Dec 23, 2024

Politics

Singh says NDP will bring forward a non-confidence motion to bring government down

Dec 20, 2024

holiday weather

Warmer than average temperature expected for La Ronge on Christmas Day

Dec 20, 2024

“We started out really cold in the beginning of March, so we don’t usually get a lot of moisture out of that,” Lang said. “But then it got really, really warm and what happened was the jet stream built very far North in the province.”

For Air Ronge Mayor Gordon Stomp, who is also a commercial fisherman, he said the weather was good for the work he does as lakes still had good snow cover. The warm temperatures, however, impacted the ice and Stomp had to use scratchers on his snowmobile. On March 20, La Ronge broke a heat record set in 1926.

Overall, he stated the lack of precipitation didn’t impact him.

“We had a bit of a dry spell here, but it means absolutely nothing,” Stomp said. “We shouldn’t be in too bad of a situation for fires for another month, but after that, it depends on some good showers. One good rain is worth a lot of snow in the early spring.”

Environment Canada is forecasting snow Saturday and Sunday in La Ronge. Lang mentioned the tri-communities could receive between 10-15 centimeters of snow, but added it will likely melt quickly due to the temperature. It’s expected to be 3 Celsius on Saturday and 2 C Sunday with sunny skies returning Monday.

–

derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno