More than Three-quarters of Missouri River Basin Abnormally Dry

Abnormally dry or drought conditions are present across 73% of the Basin, with drought conditions likely to persist or worsen through November.

“August rainfall was generally near normal across most of the Missouri River Basin, with isolated areas of above normal precipitation in every state except Nebraska,” says said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “Nebraska was generally below average with most of northern Nebraska measuring 50% of normal precipitation.”

Runoff in the Fort Peck and Fort Peck to Garrison reaches were well-below average while runoff in the reaches between Garrison Dam and Sioux City were all above average. As of Sept. 1, the total volume of water stored in the System was 55.1 MAF, which is 1.0 MAF below the base of the System’s flood control zone. System storage is expected to continue to decline through the fall.

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