Corps: river basin remains in drought status

 OMAHA - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials say little relief is in sight with ongoing drought conditions.

As a result, corps officials predict runoff into the Missouri River Basin's mainstream reservoir system will remain below normal.

Corps officials say 63 percent of the basin remains in drought conditions.

Ryan Larsen is basin team leader with the corps' Omaha office. He said the 2022 runoff was the 30^th lowest in 125 years of record keeping and 2023 is forecast to be 81 percent of average.

The corps reports that precipitation over the past 30 days has been helpful and healthy snowpack is reported across the Dakotas.