DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Mandatory water cutbacks may be employed this summer in some parts of Iowa if the drought lingers.  Tim Hall is bureau chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ geology and water survey staff and he told a legislative panel on Thursday that the situation was worst in northwest Iowa.

The state has the power to prioritize water use based on a system developed in the 1950s. Hall says the system has never been used and won’t be used this summer either. He says conservation decisions are best left to local communities because situations vary so widely from one county or part of the state to the next.

The National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln says nearly a quarter of Iowa remains in severe or extreme drought.

The Freese-Notis (podcast) weather forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, and weather data for Atlantic….

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TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON THEN BECOMING CLOUDY. COLDER. SCATTERED FLURRIES IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE LOWER 30S. NORTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY THROUGH MIDNIGHT THEN BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY. SCATTERED FLURRIES THROUGH MIDNIGHT. LOW 10 TO 15. NORTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SATURDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY THROUGH MIDNIGHT THEN BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY. NOT AS COLD. LOW IN THE MID 20S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SUNDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. WARMER. HIGH IN THE MID 50S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 30S.

WASHINGTONS BIRTHDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY…COLDER. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S.

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342 AM CST THU FEB 14 2013

TODAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 40S. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 35 MPH.

TONIGHT…CLOUDY…BREEZY…COLDER. LIGHT SNOW LIKELY IN THE EVENING…THEN A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW BEFORE MIDNIGHT. SCATTERED FLURRIES AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 1 INCH. LOW 15 TO 20. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW 60 PERCENT.

FRIDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. COLDER. SCATTERED FLURRIES. HIGH IN THE MID 20S. NORTHWEST WIND AROUND 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. SCATTERED FLURRIES. LOW AROUND 10. NORTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 30S. WEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. NOT AS COLD. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S.

SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. WARMER. HIGH IN THE LOWER 50S. LOW IN THE UPPER 20S.

Despite the threat of continued drought, the U-S Army Corps of Engineers is planning on a “normal” navigation season for 2013 on the Missouri River. Bill Doan, a water engineer in the Corps’ Omaha office, says levels on the river will be low, but it will be navigable. “On March 1st, which is typically near the start of the runoff season, the basic simulation shows system storage at 48.5 million acre feet, which means that the reservoir system would start the runoff season 8.3 million acre feet below the base of the annual flood control zone, or in other words, 8.3 million acre feet below the top of the carryover multiple use zone.” Based on the water available now, Doan says the Corps expects an eight-month navigation season in the year ahead.

“We would be providing minimum service flow support to navigation for the first part of the navigation season,” Doan says. “Flows for this level of service are designed to provide an eight-feet deep by 200-feet wide navigation channel and would require Gavins Point monthly average releases ranging from 20,000 to 28,000 (cubic feet per second).” Doan says the low water now in the up-river reservoirs will definitely have an impact on hydro-electric power production.

“The forecast for 2013 energy generation, with the basic simulation, is 7.9 billion kilowatt hours,” Doan says. “With normal reservoir levels and releases, we would expect about 10 billion kilowatt hours.” River levels were exceptionally low all of last year due to the severe drought, which followed record flooding on the Missouri which lasted a large portion of 2011.

(Radio Iowa)

The Freese-Notis forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area….

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339 AM CST WED FEB 13 2013

TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 40S. WEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. LOW AROUND 30. WEST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.

THURSDAY…PARTLY SUNNY IN THE MORNING THEN BECOMING CLOUDY. BREEZY…COLDER. SCATTERED FLURRIES IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 35 MPH.

THURSDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW THROUGH MIDNIGHT… THEN SCATTERED FLURRIES AFTER MIDNIGHT. BREEZY…COLDER. LOW 15 TO 20. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 25 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW 50 PERCENT.

FRIDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. COLDER. SCATTERED FLURRIES. HIGH IN THE UPPER 20S. NORTHWEST WIND AROUND 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW AROUND 10. HIGH IN THE LOWER 30S.

SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. NOT AS COOL. LOW AROUND 20. HIGH IN THE UPPER 40S.

The (podcast) Freese-Notis weather forecast for the KJAN listening area and weather data for Atlantic…

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TODAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. WARMER. HIGH IN THE MID 40S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE MID 20S. WEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

WEDNESDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 40S. WEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 20S. WEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

THURSDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. BREEZY…COLDER. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 25 MPH.

THURSDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. SCATTERED FLURRIES. LOW AROUND 20.

FRIDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. COLDER. SCATTERED FLURRIES. HIGH IN THE UPPER 20S.