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Army Corps Officials Provide Missouri River Update

The Missouri River near Pierre, just south of the Oahe Dam
Kealey Bultena
/
SDPB
The Missouri River near Pierre, just south of the Oahe Dam

Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are increasing the amount of water released this month out of Gavins Point Dam near Yankton. 

 

Joel Knofcynski with the Army Corps' Missouri River Water Basin Management Division says releases will soon reach more than 40,000 cubic feet per second. 

 

"Gavins Point releases average 34,000 cubic feet per second in April. Due to the higher than average runoff being forecast in the Missouri River basin above Sioux City, the service level has been increased 15,000 cubic feet per second above full service to facilitate the evacuation of stored flood waters. As downstream flows recede, Gavins Point releases will be increased to approximately 42,000 cubic feet per second by around Mid-May," Knofcynski says.

Data from the National Weather Service shows the mountain snow pack levels in the Rockies are higher than normal. Nicole Shorney with the Water Management Division says that will affect runoff rates. 

 

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"Based on the temperature and precipitation outlooks, very warm and dry for the northern Rocky Mountains over the next couple of weeks, we expect mountain snowpack to continue melting at a fairly rapid pace. We're expecting runoff in May to be above average for the Fort Peck and Garrison reaches, about 150 percent, due to the above average mountain snowpack, wet soil moisture conditions, and temperature outlooks. For the lower four reaches, Oahe to Sioux City, we're forecasting near average runoff for the May-July period, based on soil moisture conditions, precipitation outlooks, and current runoff trends,” Shorney says.

Doug Kluck is the director of NOAA's Central Region Climate Services based in Kansas City. He says there's an equal chance of below normal, normal, or above normal precipitation from now through July. 

 

 

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"My interpretation of that generally is there is simply not enough guidance, looking at models and all the other things that we look at to really tell the story there...so, either the models are disagreeing with each other, or there's just no strong signal, so therefore the EC,” Kluck says.

NOAA forecasters predict an equal chance of cooler, normal, or warmer than normal temperatures for May, June, and July in South Dakota.