Statewide Iowa — The US Army Corps of Engineers predicts no relief from dry conditions in the Missouri River basin during the year ahead, what’s forecast to be the fourth straight year of drought for the region.
Last year was the 30th-lowest annual runoff for the basin in 125 years of recordkeeping.
Hydrologist Kevin Lowe, with the National Weather Service, says that’s a result of around 63 percent of the basin being in drought.
More than three-fourths of Iowa is facing dry or drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor, with patches of northwest Iowa in extreme drought.
John Remus, chief of the Missouri River basin water management division, says run-off levels for 2023 may only be a slight improvement from last year.
While run-off levels are expected to improve slightly, this year is forecast to be similar to last year at 81 percent of average. The years 2020 through 2022 comprised the eighth-driest three-year period for the basin.
