4,632 first-hand accounts of flood events in Iowa, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
May of 1999 saw several significant flooding episodes across the Des Moines CWA. For the most part, central Iowa was spared the extremely heavy rainfall that caused major, and at several locations record, flooding along rivers in the northeast and east parts of the state.
Read the full account →May of 1999 saw several significant flooding episodes across the Des Moines CWA. For the most part, central Iowa was spared the extremely heavy rainfall that caused major, and at several locations record, flooding along rivers in the northeast and east parts of the state.
Read the full account →May of 1999 saw several significant flooding episodes across the Des Moines CWA. For the most part, central Iowa was spared the extremely heavy rainfall that caused major, and at several locations record, flooding along rivers in the northeast and east parts of the state.
Read the full account →May of 1999 saw several significant flooding episodes across the Des Moines CWA. For the most part, central Iowa was spared the extremely heavy rainfall that caused major, and at several locations record, flooding along rivers in the northeast and east parts of the state.
Read the full account →May of 1999 saw several significant flooding episodes across the Des Moines CWA. For the most part, central Iowa was spared the extremely heavy rainfall that caused major, and at several locations record, flooding along rivers in the northeast and east parts of the state.
Read the full account →May of 1999 saw several significant flooding episodes across the Des Moines CWA. For the most part, central Iowa was spared the extremely heavy rainfall that caused major, and at several locations record, flooding along rivers in the northeast and east parts of the state.
Read the full account →May of 1999 saw several significant flooding episodes across the Des Moines CWA. For the most part, central Iowa was spared the extremely heavy rainfall that caused major, and at several locations record, flooding along rivers in the northeast and east parts of the state.
Read the full account →May of 1999 saw several significant flooding episodes across the Des Moines CWA. For the most part, central Iowa was spared the extremely heavy rainfall that caused major, and at several locations record, flooding along rivers in the northeast and east parts of the state.
Read the full account →May of 1999 saw several significant flooding episodes across the Des Moines CWA. For the most part, central Iowa was spared the extremely heavy rainfall that caused major, and at several locations record, flooding along rivers in the northeast and east parts of the state.
Read the full account →May of 1999 saw several significant flooding episodes across the Des Moines CWA. For the most part, central Iowa was spared the extremely heavy rainfall that caused major, and at several locations record, flooding along rivers in the northeast and east parts of the state.
Read the full account →May of 1999 saw several significant flooding episodes across the Des Moines CWA. For the most part, central Iowa was spared the extremely heavy rainfall that caused major, and at several locations record, flooding along rivers in the northeast and east parts of the state.
Read the full account →The cold front mentioned in the event above became stationary for several hours during the early morning of the 24th as low pressure moved from the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles on the night of the 23rd, northeast into Iowa by the morning of the 24th.
Read the full account →The cold front mentioned in the event above became stationary for several hours during the early morning of the 24th as low pressure moved from the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles on the night of the 23rd, northeast into Iowa by the morning of the 24th.
Read the full account →April temperatures averaged 46.4�� or 2.1�� below normal while pecipitation totaled 5.93 inches or 2.60 inches above normal. This ranks as the 31st coldest and 2nd wettest April among 136 years of state records.
Read the full account →A strong push of moist and unstable air moved into Iowa during the day on the 24th. Surface temperatures warmed into the low to mid 70s over much of western and southern Iowa with dew point temperatures in the low to mid 60s.
Read the full account →Heavy rain fell once again across a large part of Iowa, especially across the north and northeast. This rain fell on rivers that were already close to flood stage as they were just beginning to fall after the flooding from earlier in the month.
Read the full account →A strong surge of very moist and unstable air moved into Iowa as a warm front stretched east to west along the Iowa/Missouri border. By the late afternoon hours, MUCAPE was in the 3000-4000 J/kg range with lifted indices between -5 and -8 C.
Read the full account →Iowa came off of a very wet May, only to be followed by a near record wet June. Some of the flooding along Iowa's rivers continued from May into June. Heavy rains fell on a nearly daily basis somewhere in Iowa through the first half of the month.
Read the full account →An unseasonably strong storm system aloft was located over the northern Rockies. This produced a very strong northward push of moisture into Iowa.
Read the full account →The series of strong thunderstorm continued to plague the state during the 3rd week of June. A large MCS rolled across the state, with the heaviest rain falling across the northern sections of the state.
Read the full account →Iowa enjoyed a welcomed period of dry weather from February 21 through March 5. Unfortunately, temperatures remained too low to allow substantial melting of the considerable Iowa snowpack during this dry spell.
Read the full account →Another period of heavy rainfall affected the state as several MCS's swept across the state. A nearly stationary frontal boundary that had been in place through most of the month continued to be the focal point for thunderstorm activity.
Read the full account →Another period of heavy rainfall affected the state as several MCS's swept across the state. A nearly stationary frontal boundary that had been in place through most of the month continued to be the focal point for thunderstorm activity.
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.
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