RRC Meteorologist David Spence says Alberta farmers have a renewed reason for optimism heading into the 2026 growing season, thanks to a late-season snow event that dropped 5 to 15 centimeters across central and northern regions. After three years of lean early-season water supply forecasts, conditions are now the most favorable since 2022.

Mountain snowpack at surveyed sites is above normal, and river flows on the Bow, Red Deer, Oldman, and North Saskatchewan are expected to run higher than last year.

Still, recovery is uneven: areas south of the Red Deer River, particularly toward the U.S. border, remain drier than normal with deeper soil moisture deficits that haven’t been erased—meaning more rain is still needed in the south before seeding.