September precipitation was well-below normal in the Missouri River Basin. As a result, September runoff in the upper Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, was 69 percent of average. Since January, precipitation in the upper Basin is well-below normal, a stark contrast to the last three years of high water along the river and flooding.
2019 saw historic flooding along the Missouri River, with the Army Corps of Engineers releasing large amounts of water from Gavins Point Dam, destroying levees and flooding farmland. This fall, Missouri River Basin Water Management Division chief John Reemus says, “Releases from Gavins Point Dam are being made to meet full-service Missouri River navigation flow targets.”
According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, drought conditions continue to worsen across much of the upper Basin. Wide-spread areas of drought classified as Extreme are evident in Colorado and Wyoming. Moderate to Severe drought conditions are present in large areas of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa.
