MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Don’t be fooled by all the pretty snow that’s fallen in recent days and that’s forecast for this weekend: Minnesota remains in a deep drought with no end in sight.

State Climatologist Greg Spoden says the drought has not improved one bit over the winter in Minnesota.

Updated data from the U.S. Drought Monitor on Thursday shows 98 percent of Minnesota is still in a moderate to extreme drought, and the map hasn’t changed significantly since late November.

Spoden says the snow on the ground will help recharge Minnesota’s wetlands, lakes and streams a bit when it melts. But he says little of it will soak into the frozen soil. So without abundant spring rains, he says, agriculture, forestry, horticulture, tourism and public water supplies could all be in trouble.

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