Alberta records driest recorded Fall leading to water shortages across the province

At this time of the year, Alberta is usually a winter wonderland. But after a long and dry year across Alberta, the province is experiencing its driest Fall in recorded history. That is due to temperatures, on average, being five degrees higher.

“So typically when we have an El Nino year, we see warmer conditions than what we would normally see across the seasons, and dryer as well,” said Alysa Pederson, Environment Canada.

A very dry 2023 has led to a water shortage affecting much of the province, especially those in southern Alberta.

Experts say that’s only part of the problem. We’ve only had about 20 per cent of the normal precipitation this fall. Because of that, the province is preparing for a serious drought in 2024.

Wednesday, Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Protected Areas released this statement saying, “We are closely monitoring snowpack, rainfall, river levels, and actual water use to develop early warning capacity and forecasts for next year and we will keep Albertans updated in the coming months.”

Pederson says these weather patterns could last multiple seasons.

“We did start towards last winter into the spring. As we move into December-January here, that’s when we expect it to be the strongest. But some of our models say it could last into the spring as well.”