The spring thaw is going surprisingly well, reducing the threat of flood. National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Greg Gust made that point at the Red River Watershed Management Board conference in Moorhead. “Things just opened up so nicely; we expected to see much more runoff potential and what we’re seeing is a puddle one day and the next day it’s soaking in.” Some locations may be wetter-than-normal, but Gust says that won’t last long. “We’re going to need to have near-normal precipitation to kick in here from late March into April to make sure that we can kick off the growing season. Anyone that has looked at the outlook for summer has seen that June, July, August is looking at warmer and possibly drier conditions.”