'A very dry patch' makes May the driest month in Regina since 1971

Weyburn, Sask., also experienced very dry conditions last month

Image | Fire risk map Canada June 1, 2017

Caption: Southern Saskatchewan was at an extremely high risk of wildfires on Thursday, according to Natural Resources Canada (Natural Resources Canada)

May was the driest month in Regina in more than 45 years, bucking a trend of otherwise generally normal precipitation levels in the southern half of the province.
Regina saw only 6.9 millimetres of rain last month, the lowest amount in the city since May 1971, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Image | rain map for Saskatchewan May 2017

Caption: Regina saw only 6.9 mm of rain in May 2017, the lowest amount in the city in more than 45 years. (Environment Canada)

Weyburn, located 116 kilometres southeast of Regina, was also very dry, seeing only 6.3 mm of precipitation, the lowest amount since May 1998.

'A very dry patch'

"Generally precipitation was near normal for the southern half of Saskatchewan," said John Paul Cragg, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
"There was, however, a very dry patch in the Regina and Weyburn areas."
Those conditions have carried over into June, prompting Natural Resources Canada to warn people of the extremely high risk of wildfires in southern Saskatchewan on Thursday.