ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a case study to highlight the challenges of developing a drought early warning system in a basin that exhibits an extreme annual variability in runoff and sensitivity to precipitation variability. The Missouri River is the longest river in North America. The climate along the Missouri Basin can also vary greatly between the upper and lower parts of the basin. Flood control in the Missouri River Basin is based on runoff entering the reservoirs during the spring/summer when runoff is at its peak. Following the 2011 flood, the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Northwestern Division, which covers a large part of the United States and includes the Columbia River Basin in addition to the Missouri, committed to better communication with congressional delegations, states, tribes, and stakeholders. Part of this effort was to expand the webinars the Corps was holding on the status of conditions and management of the Missouri Basin system.
