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Weather maps indicated between 20 and 30 centimetres of snow fell over some of the driest areas of the province early this week.
The largest amounts were in the Estevan, Weyburn and Regina regions with lesser amounts further north towards Yorkton and Melville.
“It was really hard to measure because some of the snow was melting as it hit because the soil surface was warm,” said Lee Moats, a farmer from Riceton—between Regina and Weyburn. “We do have accumulations in some of the stubble fields that are nearly full.”
Moats estimates snowfall ranges between 7 and 9 inches, or between 18 and 23 centimetres.
“You never know what the weather has in store for you, but as it sits right now, we are pretty optimistic there will be nice soil moisture conditions to seed into,” he said.
A side benefit of the additional moisture is a much lower fire risk. Conditions had been tinder dry. Several rural municipalities in the Saskatoon region have instituted fire bans. There was little to no snow in areas north and west of the city.
You can listen to the April 14th radio interview with Lee Moats below:
Audio Player(Above Twitter photo-Jake Leguee farm near Fillmore)