Cooler-than-average July also brought little rain to help drought

July was cooler than normal in Yellowknife and much of the NWT, but the month also brought less rain than average.

Territorial hydrologists, who study water in the NWT, say the drought affecting large parts of the territory is pretty-much unchanged as a result.

“July temperatures across the NWT were mostly below average. Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Norman Wells, and Inuvik experienced cooler temperatures than normal, while Hay River and Fort Simpson recorded normal temperatures,” the NWT government’s latest water monitoring bulletin stated on Tuesday.

“July precipitation across the NWT was generally below average with most communities – including Fort Smith, Hay River, Fort Simpson, Norman Wells and Inuvik – receiving below to well below average rainfall. Only Yellowknife recorded approximately average precipitation.”

Water levels on Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River are significantly affected by precipitation in northern Alberta and BC.

“So far this spring and summer, precipitation in most of these areas has been below to well below average,” the GNWT reported.

July rain in the southwestern edge of the territory did increase flows on some rivers that start in the Mackenzie Mountains, like the South Nahanni River.

Meanwhile, long-range forecasts suggest there’s a coin-toss chance of above-average precipitation for drought-affected areas of the NWT in the months ahead. While a 50-percent chance is by no means a certainty, that’s the highest that figure has been in a long time.

This summer’s barge season took place despite ongoing low water in the Mackenzie River and elsewhere, avoiding a second successive summer freight crisis for the Sahtu, though some residents had expressed concern at short notice provided for some shipments.

Water levels have shown “some recovery” on smaller rivers and lakes, the GNWT said, but the Sahtu’s Great Bear Lake remains at its lowest level on record for this time of year.

Liard River water level is average for this time of year, but the Hay, Mackenzie and Slave rivers are all below average, as is Great Slave Lake.