Southwestern Sask. looks at little spring runoff

 It’s only February, but preliminary runoff estimates in Saskatchewan show that drought areas from the last couple of years may face more dry conditions if there isn’t more snow and spring rain.

The report released by the Water Security Agency Feb. 8 shows a wide swath from northwestern through central and southeastern regions with near normal snowmelt runoff expected.

However, a band in the southwest that includes the Scott, Outlook, Moose Jaw, Assiniboia, Swift Current, Leader and Kindersley areas is in the below normal runoff category. The far northeast is also below normal.

A smaller pocket that includes Maple Creek is well below normal, while the area including Eastend and Val Marie is near normal.