4,632 first-hand accounts of flood events in Iowa, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
A very humid and unstable airmass was in place over Iowa during the evening of the 11th into the morning of the 12th. A strong push if moisture pushed precipitable water values to over 2 inches over southern Iowa by evening.
Read the full account →The frontal boundary that moved through the state during the previous night retreated northwest and allowed the atmosphere to reload. CAPE rose to 2000 to 3000 J/kg by mid morning with downdraft CAPE values in the 1400 to 1600 J/kg range and available CAPE in the -10 to -30…
Read the full account →A very humid and unstable airmass was in place over Iowa during the evening of the 11th into the morning of the 12th. A strong push if moisture pushed precipitable water values to over 2 inches over southern Iowa by evening.
Read the full account →A strong push of theta-e took place during the early morning hours. A stationary frontal boundary remained south of Iowa, setting the stage for another MCS to develop. The airmass was relatively unstable with CAPE around 2000 J/kg just south of the front.
Read the full account →A very humid and unstable airmass was in place over Iowa during the evening of the 11th into the morning of the 12th. A strong push if moisture pushed precipitable water values to over 2 inches over southern Iowa by evening.
Read the full account →A very moist airmass remained in place over Iowa. Precipitable water values were near 2.25 inches when a wave of low pressure moved northeast along a stalled front to the south of the state.
Read the full account →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.
Read the full account →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.
Read the full account →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.
Read the full account →An unstable airmass remained in place over Iowa. CAPE values were in the 3000 to 5000 J/kg range with lifted indices in the -5 to -10 C range. A frontal boundary shifted south during the late afternoon and evening.
Read the full account →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.
Read the full account →An unstable airmass remained in place over Iowa. CAPE values were in the 3000 to 5000 J/kg range with lifted indices in the -5 to -10 C range. A frontal boundary shifted south during the late afternoon and evening.
Read the full account →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.
Read the full account →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.
Read the full account →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.
Read the full account →A very unstable airmass was in place over Iowa. Afternoon temperatures warmed into the upper 80s to mid 90s, with dewpoint readings in the upper 70s to low 80s. A weak boundary extended out of eastern Nebraska across northern Iowa. This boundary helped to focus moisture.
Read the full account →A very unstable airmass was in place over Iowa. Afternoon temperatures warmed into the upper 80s to mid 90s, with dewpoint readings in the upper 70s to low 80s. A weak boundary extended out of eastern Nebraska across northern Iowa. This boundary helped to focus moisture.
Read the full account →A very moist airmass remained in place over Iowa. Precipitable water values were near 2.25 inches when a wave of low pressure moved northeast along a stalled front to the south of the state.
Read the full account →A quasi-stationary front was located south of Iowa as an upper level shortwave advanced across the area in strong westerly flow aloft. The atmosphere was somewhat unstable, albeit the instability was elevated in nature.
Read the full account →A cold front moved southeast across the state during the day on the 21st. The airmass was moderately unstable with CAPE values ahead of the front around 2000 J/kg and lifted indices of -3 to -6 C.
Read the full account →Moisture was drawn north into Iowa during the overnight hours of the 6th into the 7th. The freezing level rose to around 14,500 feet as precipitable water rose to 1.5 to 2 inches.
Read the full account →A line of thunderstorms blasted across parts of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois during the early morning hours of June 23. With temperatures hovering|near 80, the storms had plenty of instability to work with and as a result produced isolated wind damage from Jesup, Iowa to…
Read the full account →A line of thunderstorms blasted across parts of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois during the early morning hours of June 23. With temperatures hovering|near 80, the storms had plenty of instability to work with and as a result produced isolated wind damage from Jesup, Iowa to…
Read the full account →A line of thunderstorms blasted across parts of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois during the early morning hours of June 23. With temperatures hovering|near 80, the storms had plenty of instability to work with and as a result produced isolated wind damage from Jesup, Iowa to…
Read the full account →