(NAFB.com) – July runoff in the Missouri River basin above Sioux City, Iowa, was 2.8 million acre-feet, 85 percent of the average, with below-average runoff in the upper three reaches and below-average in the lower three reaches. The annual runoff forecast above Sioux City, Iowa, is 23.9 million acre-feet, 93 percent of average. “July brought warmer and drier weather to the Missouri River Basin,” says John Remus of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “While every state experienced storms that produced small pockets of above average rainfall, overall precipitation was below normal for the basin.” The July 30 drought monitor shows that 59 percent of the Basin is in abnormally dry or worse category. Soils are drier than normal in the western portion of the basin and wetter than normal in the eastern parts of the basin. System storage peaked on July 11 at 57 million acre-feet. August 1 storage was 56.5 MAF.