The Red River is likely to crest in the Fargo-Moorhead area today. Most of the tributaries in the upper (southern) part of the basin have crested or are near crest now. Climatologically, it is quite impressive how our winter suddenly changed halfway through from being very snowy to being very dry. This begs a few questions. Will the weather continue to be dry throughout the spring? Will the summer of 2020 be dry and dusty? Are we headed for a long-term drought?
Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are unknowable. A drought never begins with a notice. We did not know it would essentially stop snowing January 18. There is always a lag from the time a drought begins until the time you know there's a drought. Likewise, it is very hard to tell if the next round of precipitation will mark the end of a drought or if the weather will go back to being dry again.
