‘Crucial springtime’: Why Alberta’s wildfire season is off to a better start this year

By Taylor Lambert
CBC News
June 18, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

ALBERTA — The bar was low for a better wildfire season in Alberta this year after a record-shattering season in 2023, persistent drought conditions and expectations of high temperatures. But the province weathered the crucial spring period, emerging in far better shape than it had at this point last year. …Brian Proctor, a meteorologist said the expectations for this season were influenced by a multi-year drought and a warm winter. …With no strong climate feature such as the warming El Niño, or the cooling La Niña, Alberta’s temperatures should be closer to average than last year, Proctor said. But precipitation is harder to predict. …”I don’t have a ton of confidence in our precipitation forecast other than to suggest it should be fairly normal conditions,” he said. Drought conditions in much of Alberta have relented due to more precipitation, but the far northwest region is still quite dry.

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