The Prairies are heading into another drought. Here's why we're more vulnerable this time

In northern Alberta, a worrisomely dry winter has raised some fears about an issue that hasn’t historically been a problem — drought. 

“Up towards Slave Lake, we’d expect about 50 millimetres [of water] this coming year,” said John Pomeroy, a University of Saskatchewan water scientist. 

“We had five. So one–tenth of normal.”

It’s a similar situation southwest of Edmonton, where the snow pillow — a device used to measure snowpack — between the North Saskatchewan River and the Athabasca River is far worse than last year.

That snow pillow is recording just over 139 millimetres of water equivalent in the snowpack, which is well below average for this