Sen. John Hoeven and Gov. Jack Dalrymple will join local, state and federal officials Monday in Bismarck to discuss how the agencies are coordinating to fight flooding in the Devils Lake Basin.

Brigadier Gen. Michael Walsh of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will also be at the meeting to brief Hoeven and Dalrymple on how the Corps is preparing for an expected record Devils Lake level later this year.

The National Weather Service released an updated 2011 flood outlook Thursday that shows the lake will almost certainly rise beyond its record elevation of 1,452.1 feet – a record that was set last summer.

Here’s the weather service’s description of what the Devils Lake Basin can expect this year:

This outlook still indicates that Devils Lake and Stump Lake will likely rise (80 percent probability) to a new record height in excess of a 1454.1 ft elevation, which is two feet above their previous record set last summer.  These lakes could rise (20 percent probability) to a height in excess of a 1455.1 feet, or three feet above their previous record.  Overall risk factors have been reduced slightly for this update, largely due to below normal snowfall through February.  [Creel Bay gauge at 1451.73 on 3/3/11]