The US Drought Monitor map was updated Thursday and still shows parts of Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa in some form of drought.
The information was released during the US Army Corps of Engineers’ monthly call with media.
Thursday’s map showed recent heavy rain alleviated drought conditions in Iowa and Nebraska.
Jody Farhat, Chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, discussed the corps’ runoff forecast for 2014.
"As expected, runoff during the month of May was above normal due to the melt of the above average mountain snowpack. We anticipate the above normal runoff will continue in June and July as the rest of the snow melt enters the reservoirs. The updated 2014 calendar year runoff forecast above Sioux City is 31.1 million acre feet or 123% of normal .”
Farhat says this is down slightly from the corps’ May 1st runoff forecast due to an adjustment to the June/July runoff forecast for Fort Peck and Garrison.