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Flood — Polk, IA

Feb 10, 2009

Iowa received a welcome break from heavy winter precipitation. The month was practically snow-free until the 13th when snow fell over the southeast one-half of the state with greatest amounts in central (7.6 inches at Des Moines) and southwest (6.8 inches at Oakland) Iowa. Temperatures averaged 7.8�� above normal for the first 13 days of the month with readings soaring into the 60���s in parts of southern Iowa on the 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th. Donnellson in the far southeast corner of

Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database (event 150599). Narrative written by NWS staff at the time of the event.

Flood Risk Context for Polk, IA

This event is one of many recorded floods in Polk County. See the full FEMA flood zone map, NFIP claim totals, and disaster history for the area.

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More Flood Stories

Flash Flood1 death$100K damage

Polk, IA · Aug 11, 2010

Once again the atmosphere over Iowa became very unstable during the peak heating of the day. CAPE rose to 3500-4500 J/kg by the mid to late afternoon with lifted indices of -8 to -10 C.

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Flash Flood1 death$1.0M damage

Polk, IA · Jun 30, 2018

A frontal boundary was draped across areas just west of Iowa during the morning hours of June 30th, and slowly moved eastward into the state throughout the day.

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Flash Flood1 death$30K damage

Polk, IA · Feb 19, 1997

Significant ice jams took place along the Raccoon River along its lower reaches. One occurred where the river flows through a gravel pit on the west side of the Des Moines area. A woman was driving across a flood plain road when one of the ice jams suddenly broke.

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Flash Flood$20K damage

Polk, IA · Jul 20, 2025

Diurnally driven afternoon storms on Sunday, July 20th, 2025, developed within an unstable environment with CAPE values over 3000 J/kg and 40 to 45 kts of effective shear.

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