Latest flood outlook for 2020 continues to show improvements

Officials met over the phone this afternoon for the latest on the flooding risk for the upcoming spring season. The latest data continues show improvements.

Three key features we're tracking, that would exacerbate flooding conditions, is mountain snow across the Rockies, snow pack (or lack thereof) in the central plains and forecast precipitation over the next several weeks.

The first piece of good news is that snow pack across the central plains has for the most part melted and that factor has already been accounted for. With that, latest projections are starting to point to a less severe flooding season than 2019.

This region has also experienced far drier than normal conditions across a majority of the basin, and forecast precipitation continues this trend of below average precipitation through much of the rest of this month.

One thing that continues to be a concern, is that even with drier than normal conditions, soil moisture continues to remain high which will help accelerate runoff into the Missouri river. What's encouraging is that these runoff conditions are nearly half of what they were this time last year.

However, officials were ADAMANT that 1 or 2 widespread and heavy precipitation events could halt this cautious optimism in its tracks.

Due to current conditions, mid-Missouri should still expect minor to moderate flooding throughout the spring. It was also noted that we should continue to remain vigilant and river-aware, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It can be difficult to focus on anything other than that right now, but it's important to not forget this threat as we approach summer.

-Luke