The month of April was at least consistent in one respect: wet. It rained or snowed on 18 out of 30 days which left an accumulated total of 141 mm of precipitation, which is about 5.5 inches or 185 per cent above normal. The precipitation was made up of 131 mm of rain and 8 cm of snow.
Despite the high levels of moisture in the soil, the regular winds have helped to dry out the soil’s surface such that field work has already begun. Remember, at this time last year, we were just starting an extended dry spell that brought only 8 mm of rain for the whole month of May. The forecast for May 2022 says the dryness won’t be repeated, as rain or shower activity is anticipated throughout the month.
The average temperature settled right on the nose for April, ending at 6.4 degrees Celsius, with the normal being 6.5 C. The average was made up of a combination of warmer-than-usual nights in the first half of the month, and cooler-than-usual days in the second half. The trend will be repeated, to a lesser degree, in May, and daytime highs are forecast to be no more than about 20 C throughout the month.
We saw our first bumblebee of the season, which is a good sign, and just consider ourselves lucky that we’re not in Manitoba (not one, but two major snowstorms), Kansas (tornadoes), South Africa (major flooding), or India (record heat wave even before the hot season begins!).
