Hot, dry weather means even lower Missouri River runoff projections

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Radio Iowa: Drought conditions are expected to expand and worsen across Iowa when the new map is released tomorrow from the U.S. Drought Monitor. The continued hot, dry weather is being reflected in runoff predictions for the Missouri River. Kevin Grode, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha, says lower-than-normal runoff has persisted since last year. May runoff above Sioux City, Iowa, was 2.1 million acre feet, which is 61% of average,” Grode says. “This follows a very dry April. Soil conditions in the upper basin continue to be extremely dry during the mountain snowmelt and spring rainfall portion of the runoff season.” Grode says the Corps’ overall runoff prediction will end up well below normal.