El Niño Drought Risk — Western Canada: Transitional Climate Pattern Raises Stakes for 2026 Growing Season
Southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan enter the 2026 growing season carrying multi-year soil moisture deficits that predated this spring. The La Niña cycle that drove those deficits has now officially ended. An El Niño Watch is active. What replaces La Niña — and how quickly — will determine whether producers in the most drought-stressed regions…