Much of the B.C. Interior found itself mired in a moderate or severe drought to start June, with moderate drought also beginning to develop across the coast near Vancouver and Victoria.
Dry conditions, warm temperatures, and a fast-melting snowpack contributed to B.C.’s worsening trend.
Farther east, conditions remained largely unchanged on the Prairies throughout May, with a severe drought continuing for a small swath of southern Alberta. The time period for this analysis took place before flooding rains swamped the Prairies during the second week of June.
Eastern half of Canada largely in good shape
We often see large swings in precipitation trends from one community to the next as thunderstorm season arrives in the eastern half of Canada.
Most of Ontario and Quebec were in good shape heading into June despite below-normal precipitation throughout the region. The area of greatest concern remained northeastern Quebec and western Labrador, where moderate to severe drought conditions persisted.
The Maritimes were a bright spot in the update, with persistent rains bringing a significant reduction in abnormally dry and moderate drought throughout New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. A few of these areas saw more than 200 per cent of their normal precipitation in May.
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