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  • Upper Missouri River basin forecast remains above average

    Water releases from Gavins Point Dam will remain at 33,000 cubic feet per second in June, which is about average. May runoff in the upper Basin was about 130% of average; however, the summer climate outlook indicates a return to warmer and drier conditions in the upper Basin.
  • Missouri River basin’s below-normal precipitation leads to lower runoff forecast; reduced Gavins Point releases

    Gavins Point releases will be reduced to 33,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) on Friday, May 8 following a reduction in forecast 2020 upper basin runoff. Since January, precipitation in the upper basin has been well below normal, which has led to a reduction in the runoff forecast. Some areas of the Dakotas received less than half of their normal precipitation during the first four months of 2020.
  • Missouri River water management public meeting presentations available online

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Water Management Division has released four videos of presentations that would normally be given at public meetings held throughout the Missouri River Basin. In-person public meetings on Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System operations originally scheduled for April were canceled to further reduce potential exposure to COVID-19. Instead, the agency will host virtual question and answer sessions in late April. A web page with the videos, a form for submitting questions, and call in dates and times is located here: https://go.usa.gov/xvBpc.
  • Forecast runoff for upper Missouri River basin lower after warm spring

    Gavins Point releases are forecast to remain near 35,000 cubic feet per second through the month of April. The upper Missouri River basin March runoff fell in line with the March 1 forecast. Runoff above Sioux City, Iowa was 5.5 million acre feet, which is almost two times average. The above average runoff was primarily due to plains snow melting over heavily saturated soils. “The warmer-than-normal temperatures melted most of the plains snow in the eastern and central Dakotas. Along with the steady, but near average, rate of snow accumulation in the mountains, the projected upper Missouri River basin runoff for 2020 has been slightly reduced,” said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.
  • Corps reports above normal May runoff in the Missouri River Basin; drought conditions improve in upper basin

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Missouri River Basin Water Management Division reports May runoff in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, was 3.7 million acre feet (MAF), 110 percent of normal. The 2015 runoff forecast has increased to 22.5 MAF, 89 percent of normal. Average annual runoff is 25.2 MAF.
  • Corps decreases runoff forecast due to lower than normal mountain snowpack

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Missouri River Basin Water Management Division is decreasing the annual runoff forecast for the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, to 20.3 million acre feet (MAF), which is 80 percent of normal and 4.9 MAF less than average. The decreased forecast is due to below normal mountain snowpack and the lack of plains snow in the basin.