Federal officials say flood risk is especially high along the Missouri River this spring reports the Daily Nonpareil.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages six dams on the Missouri River, and the National Weather Service, which forecasts flooding, shared concerns during their monthly update stating that soils are overly wet, rivers are already running high, and the weather could play a huge factor as well.
Soil moisture currently ranks in the 99th percentile in many areas according to Kevin Grode of the corps’ Omaha District. In January, the runoff into the Missouri River was nearly double the normal amount.
The corps is forecasting unseen massive amounts of runoff, projecting it to be among the top-ten runoff years in 122 years of records.
A big worry is the snow cover in the eastern Dakotas. There is about two to three inches of water, says Kevin Low, a hydrologist with the weather service.
Because the soil below the snow is already so saturated, the snowmelt will run off instead of soaking into the soil.
The risk along the Missouri River is downstream of Omaha, Nebraska.