The hot, dry weather forecast for this week is both good and bad news for farmers, World Weather Inc. senior agricultural meteorologist Drew Lerner says.

In drier areas of Saskatchewan, such as the band from Saskatoon to Coronach, 30 C temperatures will only exacerbate the situation and increase stress on crops, he said.

However areas in the northeast that have received a fair amount of recent rain will benefit.

“I think it can make a really nice environment for both the spraying of some fields as well as allowing the ground to firm up just a little bit so we don’t get into an excessive moisture situation the next time rain falls.”

The Humboldt area will see more drying over the next five days followed by scattered showers, he said.

It’s been a warmer spring than normal and the snowmelt evaporated quickly, leaving behind low subsoil moisture.

Looking ahead to the midrange forecast, a high pressure ridge will poke its head into southeastern Saskatchewan and southwest Manitoba, Lerner said,

That should funnel timely rain systems to the heart of Saskatchewan from the U.S. Pacific Northwest and British Columbia.

Since that weather system isn’t expected to stick around too long, there will be other opportunities for rain in the east and drying in the west as other systems take its place.

While there won’t be enough rain to replenish subsoil moisture, the weather should be favourable for agriculture in most regions, he said.

“Not a perfect year. Not at all. But not nearly the disaster that some forecasters had been suggesting earlier this season.”