Updates Entry
May 26, 2011
Record floods pound Dakotas, moving downstream
A combination of 140% normal snowpack and heavy rains have filled mainstem Missouri River reservoirs and the Corps of Engineers has begun releasing unprecedented flows of water from the dams.
Sandbagging has begun in Montana, North and South Dakota as predicted releases seem to climb each day. The latest announcement on May 28 is that lower dams, including Gavin's Point Dam (the most downstream dam) will be quickly increase their flows and be releasing 150,000 cubis feet per second (cfs) by mid-June. These predictions have been changing daily.
Heavy rains in the lower basin have caused levels there to spike and most communities from Omaha downstream are predicted to enter flood stage by this weekend.
We've been collecting a news feed of published stories on the web about Missouri River flooding throughout the basin. Click here to access that feed, published on our Big Muddy News blog»
To check river level projections at all gages along the Missouri River, visit the NWS Advanced Hydrological Predictions page for the Missouri River. Click the gages you want to see on the left, then the information you want on the right, then click "Create my River Page" at the bottom. This can then be bookmarked for continuous reference.
For the latest information supplied by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on flood inundation maps, levee vulnerability, press releases and updated forecasts see:
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District Flood Page (North Dakota to Rulo, NE)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City District Flood Page (Rulo, NE to St. Louis, MO)
For links to more river watching products, see our River Links page.
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