Below-normal precipitation in the upper Missouri River basin during June has led to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reduce releases into the river from Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota.
The releases were down to 30,000 cubic feet per second Tuesday, according to a Corps news release.
“The upper basin runoff forecast has been reduced by about 1 million acre feet due to the recent dry conditions as well as the National Weather Service’s climate outlook, which is indicating that the remainder of the summer will be warmer and drier than normal,” said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “However, the 2020 calendar year runoff forecast remains above average, mostly due to the very wet soil conditions during the early months of the year. Most of the mountain snowmelt runoff has entered the reservoir system. Remaining summer runoff will depend on rainfall events.”
Remus said soils continue to dry out in the upper river basin due to well-below normal precipitation and warmer-than-normal temperatures. Drought conditions, based on the National Drought Mitigation Center Drought Monitor, have expanded across much of western portion of the basin.
The potential for localized flooding remains in the lower basin from locally heavy rain on the many uncontrolled tributaries downstream of the Missouri River Mainstream Reservoir System, Remus added.
As of Tuesday, the National Weather Service in St. Louis reported the Missouri River was at 13 feet in Jefferson City and expected to slowly fall to 11 feet by Sunday.