MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The National Weather Service says that the melding winter snowpack is not expected to do enough to alleviate dry soil conditions around Minnesota.

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, even spring flooding would likely not avert a drought.

Winter precipitation has been above average this season, and the NWS predicts a high risk of flooding in the southern part of the Red River Valley, including the Fargo-Moorhead area.

But 70 percent of the state is in either severe or extreme drought conditions. Soil moisture is at near record lows in many parts of the state.

“All of the snow that has fallen over the winter by and large remains on top of the landscape, a landscape that is largely frozen,” Minnesota climatologist Greg Spoden said. “Now the dust remains beneath the concrete.”

Spoden said that rainfall totals from March through May would have to exceed the average of 6 to 8 inches to “recharge” the soil for spring planting season.