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Key NWT lakes, rivers, need more rainfall in northern Alberta, BC
Most of NWT had a dry and hot August; rest of September forecasted to be warm and wet, says GNWT
The NWT had a dry and hot August, which did not help ease low-water concerns in several regions.
The GNWT’s monthly Water Monitoring Bulletin showed August precipitation across the NWT was mostly well below average, while temperatures across the NWT were mostly well above average.
Great Slave Lake’s water level is currently well below average and has been slowly decreasing since end of April 2025 – but that’s normal for this time of year, say the scientists.
Forecasts show a high likelihood of warmer-than-normal temperatures across most of the NWT in September, stated the report.
For precipitation, September forecasts indicate a 50% chance of above-average amounts in central NWT and stronger confidence for above-average precipitation across the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.
Any topping up before freeze-up of Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River will be impacted by rainfall amounts in upstream basins, particularly in northern Alberta and British Columbia.
So far this year, cumulative rainfall in these areas – as observed at the communities of High Level, Peace River, Fort Chipewyan, Fort Nelson and Fort St. John – has been below to well-below average.
Low water levels are the result of extreme drought conditions that began in the summer of 2022 and have persisted through 2023 and 2024.
Water levels have since shown some recovery, but this has mostly been limited to small rivers and lakes.