Weather and climate resources – Overview

Overview

Knowing about past weather patterns can be more important than a weather forecast.

On a specific date in Alberta, did it snow or freeze? How cold or warm was it? How much did it rain? Was it humid or windy? Using the information and tools in this section, you can access this and additional information, looking back by the hour, day, week, month or year.

Historic climate information is also important to know. For example, how hot or cold can it get, and how often? What are the seasonal rainfall patterns in an area? How much rain can fall in an extreme wet spell or drought? How much snow can fall on average, or in a heavy snow fall year? What are the average growing degree days or corn heat units? Or how do recent climate conditions compare to long-term averages?

The answers to all these questions, along with weather forecasts, can be accessed by using the following weather and climate resources.

Weather and climate

Alberta Climate Information Service (ACIS)

• This website – available in desktop and mobile views – offers a set of interactive, map-based online tools. Producers, farm consultants and researchers can view Alberta weather forecasts, browse over 25,000 maps of Alberta weather and climate-related information, and access near real-time data from over 450 meteorological stations operating in the province. Maps and weather data describe Alberta's weather, climate and related agriculture features to help with your long-term planning and decision-making throughout the growing season.

See also:

• Assessing weather conditions
• Estimate probable freezing dates
• View precipitation events
• Find current weather data
• Find historic climate data

Agricultural Moisture Situation Updates

• The Agricultural Moisture Situation Update is developed by the drought modelling team at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry and is published frequently as appropriate during the growing season and less frequently during winter months.

Estimate probable freezing dates

• Find information for estimating probable freezing dates. See average dates of first fall frosts and last spring frosts for 114 weather stations located across Alberta.

Environment Canada

• Environment Canada’s weather map highlights current weather conditions around the country.

Agriculture and agri-food Canada – Managing Agro-climate risk

• Information and resources to help prepare and mitigate risks to crops, livestock and land during a drought.

Irrigation

Alberta Irrigation Management Model

• This software program helps irrigation producers with deciding their irrigation schedules as well as agronomic record keeping.

IRRI-Cast: Crop Water Use Report

• This application provides up-to-date crop water use information for specific crops and the expected crop water use forecast for the next 5 days.

Irrigation Management Climate Information Network

• Provides the irrigation industry in Alberta with up-to-date, heat units and provides crop water use information and a forecast for crop water requirements throughout the major irrigated areas of southern Alberta.

River conditions and advisories

Alberta River Basins Data

• Provides data and advisories on river basins throughout Alberta. This includes forecasts, ice observation, precipitation maps and water supply data.