4,632 first-hand accounts of flood events in Iowa, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
Major to record flooding occurred during the month of June 2008 with most forecast points above flood stage for the majority of the month. The flooding during this month was more prolific and severe than the flooding in April 2008, and the flooding in April had been the most…
Read the full account →Heavy rains during the fourth week of July caused both major rivers running through Jones County to crest well above flood stage.||Although not guaged in Jones County, the Maquoketa River reached record levels both upstream in Manchester and downstream in Maquoketa.
Read the full account →An unstable airmass was in place over Iowa with CAPE over 2000 J/kg already by early in the morning. Downdraft CAPE was quite high, in the 1000 to 1300 J/kg range, with 400 to 600 J/kg in the -10 to -30 C layer of the atmosphere.
Read the full account →A generally stationary boundary remained oriented roughly west to east across the state through the evening and overnight hours. As a result, storms initiated along and north of the boundary and provided multiple rounds of heavy rainfall from roughly Ames northward.
Read the full account →Reports from the 13h through the 19th in this entry. ||A relatively deep and widespread snowpack existed across the region during early to mid March.
Read the full account →Reports from the 13h through the 19th in this entry. ||A relatively deep and widespread snowpack existed across the region during early to mid March.
Read the full account →Reports from the 13h through the 19th in this entry. ||A relatively deep and widespread snowpack existed across the region during early to mid March.
Read the full account →The setup was not spectacular for sustained or widespread severe weather, but did lay the ground for some isolated issues. SB/MUCAPE values built up into the 2000-4000 J/kg range by the early afternoon with the help of dew points into the low to mid 70s and at least…
Read the full account →The setup was not spectacular for sustained or widespread severe weather, but did lay the ground for some isolated issues. SB/MUCAPE values built up into the 2000-4000 J/kg range by the early afternoon with the help of dew points into the low to mid 70s and at least…
Read the full account →The hits just kept on rolling, with yet another pair of rounds of strong to severe storms, heavy rainfall, and flooding. Through much of the end of May, the synoptic setup across the region remained relatively unchanged, including this event.
Read the full account →The setup over Iowa was primed for a heavy rainfall event for a few reasons, including persistent SW 500 mb flow, a strong and SW oriented 850 mb jet, strong low level moisture transport, and elevated CAPE around 1000-2000 J/kg.
Read the full account →An early morning squall line moved across northeast Iowa on June 22nd. This squall line produced winds of 60 to 70 mph and at least one tornado. The tornado destroyed one farm house near Maynard (Fayette County) causing injuries to both occupants of the house.
Read the full account →A boundary was pushing through the state with ongoing convection through central Iowa through the day. As the boundary neared the area, the convection intensified and impacted central and southern Iowa in the evening to early morning hours.
Read the full account →A slow-moving occluded surface low continued to trek into and across Iowa, provided another opportunity for some periods of moderate to heavy rainfall and funnel clouds.
Read the full account →An occluded/occluding surface low pressure system slowly worked its way into western and southwest Iowa during the morning and afternoon of the 25th. Given its location, Iowa was situated north of the warm front, which was much further south into central Missouri.
Read the full account →Iowa remained entrenched in the relative ring of fire weather pattern. Morning convection lingered across southern Minnesota and northern Iowa through the morning, before generally subsiding.
Read the full account →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.
Read the full account →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.
Read the full account →A weak, relatively stationary, boundary found itself across portions of western and central Iowa during the evening and overnight hours of the 1st into the 2nd.
Read the full account →More heavy rainfall was seen across the area, primarily situated over the northern third of the state, as a surface boundary sat across central Iowa and a shortwave moved through the upper level flow.
Read the full account →A weak, relatively stationary, boundary found itself across portions of western and central Iowa during the evening and overnight hours of the 1st into the 2nd.
Read the full account →A weak, relatively stationary, boundary found itself across portions of western and central Iowa during the evening and overnight hours of the 1st into the 2nd.
Read the full account →Very heavy rain fell across the Des Moines and Waterloo metro areas on the evening of June 30th. This led to flash flooding and river flooding that continued into 01 July 2018.
Read the full account →Very heavy rain fell across the Des Moines and Waterloo metro areas on the evening of June 30th. This led to flash flooding and river flooding that continued into 01 July 2018.
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