Recent snowfall in Lethbridge will help drought, but benefits depend on melt rate: expert

Around 35 centimetres of snow fell in Lethbridge over the past six days, and while experts say it will help avoid a potential drought, it all matters on how slow it melts. “There's a maximum rate (at) which water can go into the soil, so as soon as you go over that then water will just run off and ends up in ponds or on the street or the curb,” said Willemijn Appels, senior research chair of the Mueller Irrigation Research Group at Lethbridge College. “So, in the end, the slowe