OMAHA, N.E.(DRGNews)- The US Army Corps of Engineers updated 2024 calendar year runoff forecast for the upper Missouri River Basin– which is the part of the river above Sioux City, Iowa– is below average.

National Weather Service Hydrologist Kevin Low (like cow) says the current mountain snowpack is well below normal.

Low says ice freeze up and ice jam ups will be a risk over the next several weeks.

Low says the most recent outlook shows the majority of the potential for flooding is in the lower basin.

January runoff in the upper Missouri River Basin was 56% of average (0.4 million acre-feet). The 2024 calendar year runoff forecast above Sioux City is 73% of average (18.8 MAF). The runoff forecast is based on current soil moisture conditions, plains snowpack, mountain snowpack and long-term precipitation and temperature outlooks. The start of the annual runoff season is typically around March 1.