The 2019 runoff forecast in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, is 28.4 million acre feet (MAF), 112 percent of normal, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Missouri River Water Management Division. “The forecast increased about 10 percent from last month due to the continued accumulation of mountain and plains snowpack in the upper basin. Gavins Point releases will be increased from 18,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 20,000 cfs this week,” said John Remus, Chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.
As of March 1, the mountain snowpack was 108 percent of average in the reach above Fort Peck and 103 percent of average in the reach from Fort Peck to Garrison. The mountain snowpack increased during February as a result of colder-than-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation. Normally the mountain snowpack peaks in mid-April.
Plains snowpack is currently heaviest in central and eastern North Dakota and north central and eastern South Dakota. The snowpack’s liquid content, or snow water equivalency (SWE), ranges from 2 to 5 inches. The rest of the upper basin has accumulated 1 to 3 inches of SWE while the lower basin ranges from 0 to 2 inches of SWE. The Corps is cooperating with other agencies to acquire plains snow measurements in the upper basin.
Full Release at: https://www.nwd.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/1778437/2019-runoff-forecast-above-average-public-meetings-set-for-april-9-11