And what farmers do about it · Alberta Grade 5 · maddyhelps.com
Name
Date
Tick weather (what is happening now) or climate (the usual pattern over years). Then answer the farming questions.
Statement
Weather
Climate
It is snowing in Red Deer this morning.
Southern Alberta gets little rain most years.
A chinook melted the snow yesterday.
The Peace Country has long summer days for growing crops.
There is a thunderstorm warning for tonight.
Winters in Alberta are usually long and cold.
Why do many farms in southern Alberta use irrigation?
How could a hailstorm in July change a farmer's year?
For the grown-up
Weather or climate?
It is snowing in Red Deer this morning — weather; Southern Alberta gets little rain most years — climate; A chinook melted the snow yesterday — weather; The Peace Country has long summer days for growing crops — climate; There is a thunderstorm warning for tonight — weather; Winters in Alberta are usually long and cold — climate. Irrigation: southern Alberta's climate is dry, so crops need more water than the rain gives. A July hailstorm is weather, and one storm can flatten a crop just before harvest — which is why farmers buy hail insurance.
The Peace Country line is a nice one to talk about: crops grow that far north partly because summer days there are very long.