Saskatchewan's location, far from any moderating oceanic influences, results in a continental climate. The temperature is primarily determined by the energy radiating from the sun. In addition, a variety of air masses and wind fields bring with them diverse weather experiences.
The climate of Saskatchewan is rife with extremes. Temperatures can range from -40°C in the dead of winter in northern regions to +35°C during summer in the southern regions. The result is that Saskatchewan's overall mean annual temperature is lower than other international areas at the same latitude. The extreme nature of the climate extends to severe climate events as well: from drought to flooding downpours, and thunderstorms to blizzards and tornadoes.
Saskatchewan encompasses 11 distinct provincial ecoregions that differ in local climate, vegetation, soils, water and local human activity. The boundaries of these ecoregions loosely align with areas of different climatic conditions.
A noticeable trend in temperature and precipitation variation is apparent among the ecoregions. Generally, temperature levels drop from south to north and from west to east within the province. Conversely, precipitation levels ordinarily decrease from north to south. So what we find, in general, are cool moist conditions in the northeast, and warmer, drier conditions in the southwest.
Between these ecoregions, annual temperature ranges can vary by up to 12°C at any point. Temperatures are generally warmer throughout the year in the Prairie ecoregions than in the Boreal ecoregions. The same trend exists between the Boreal ecoregions and the Taiga zone. The mean temperatures of each of these zones also vary. In fact, there is a 10°C variation between the mean annual temperature in the Prairie from that in the Taiga.
Overall, annual precipitation varies even more so than temperature between the ecoregions. Precipitation levels and annual ranges are quite variable throughout Saskatchewan and tend to decrease from north to south. Annual precipitation varies by 200mm between the Taiga and the Prairie zones of the province, with the latter receiving the lesser levels.
In Saskatchewan, the summer months tend to be wetter, with Boreal ecoregions receiving over 90mm of precipitation per month in that season. The Prairie ecoregions of the province tends to be the driest in terms of annual precipitation levels. An exception to the rule is the southeastern Prairie which is more often affected by humid air masses from the south. That particular area experiences higher levels of annual rain and snowfall than the rest of the southern region of the province.
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