It’s been a long year for farmers and communities along the Missouri River. Floods started back in March and extended through the growing season, and the ‘high water’ is expected to continue into December.
According to the U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers, 2019 runoff for the Missouri river basin is forecast at 61 million acre-feet, which is nearly 2 and a half times higher than average.
Kevin Grode with the Corps says more unprecedented precipitation is on the way.
“For the month of October, we forecasted the runoff during this month would be three times the long-term average. Largely in part to the tributaries that are continuing to flow much above average due to September rains along with the soil moisture conditions being extremely wet, and this all limits infiltration from any rain events.”
Many acres of farmland border the river and Grode says if the runoff isn’t released from the river system it will increase the chance of flooding next year.
