4,632 first-hand accounts of flood events in Iowa, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
The very wet weather pattern of June and July continued into the first two weeks of August. Central Iowa was hardest hit by rainfall with three consecutive nights of torrential rains on the 8th, 9th and 10th.
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 →Thunderstorms developed north of a warm front across northeast Iowa during the afternoon of June 14th. Initially, these storms produced some wind damage and large hail before they became heavy rain producers that led to flash flooding.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms with high winds and extremely heavy rain moved across northeast Iowa during the evening of September 21st into the early morning of the 22nd. Winds of 60 to 70 mph occurred near Rockford (Floyd County) and Nora Springs (Floyd County).
Read the full account →Thunderstorms with high winds and extremely heavy rain moved across northeast Iowa during the evening of September 21st into the early morning of the 22nd. Winds of 60 to 70 mph occurred near Rockford (Floyd County) and Nora Springs (Floyd County).
Read the full account →A warm front moved slowly north into Iowa during the overnight hours of the 28th into the 29th. The airmass became unstable as surface temperatures warmed into the low 80s, with dewpoints around 70 along and south of the front.
Read the full account →A strong storm system developed over the southern Rockies during the early morning hours of the 17th. A strong frontal boundary extended from the low, northeast across Iowa. A 50 kt low level jet developed during the predawn hours.
Read the full account →A strong warm front was in place across central Nebraska through northern Missouri. The front aloft bisected Iowa from northwest to southeast. A 35 kt low level jet was in place with strong moisture transport into the state.
Read the full account →A small tornado developed east of Garnavillo (Clayton County) and traveled east/northeast to the Mississippi River before crossing over into Wisconsin.
Read the full account →A small tornado developed east of Garnavillo (Clayton County) and traveled east/northeast to the Mississippi River before crossing over into Wisconsin.
Read the full account →A strong warm front was in place across central Nebraska through northern Missouri. The front aloft bisected Iowa from northwest to southeast. A 35 kt low level jet was in place with strong moisture transport into the state.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms in northwest Iowa during the late afternoon and evening of June 14th produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding. The thunderstorms also produced damaging winds and hail.
Read the full account →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 →Thunderstorms developed across northeast Iowa during the evening of April 14th as a warm front advanced north toward the region. These storms dumped localized heavy rains that produced some flash flooding in portions of Winneshiek County.
Read the full account →A cold front stalled out across eastern Iowa September 13 while remnants from Pacific Hurricane Lowell and moisture from the remnants of Hurricane Ike moved across the region. Copious amounts of rain was the result over much of the Midwest.
Read the full account →A slow moving cold front entered the state and produced heavy rainfall across a large portion of central Iowa. The front eventually stalled, and transitioned to a northward moving warm front the next day.
Read the full account →The evening of July 16th thunderstorms produced a large area of 10 plus inches of rain from Monona County into Crawford County. Over half of Monona County averaged between 8 and 10 inches of rain. 12.75 inches of rain was reported at the Castana Experimental Farm.
Read the full account →Another morning and early afternoon MCS rolled through Iowa, producing heavy rainfall, a couple of wind damage reports, and a handfull of flash flood reports.
Read the full account →Another morning and early afternoon MCS rolled through Iowa, producing heavy rainfall, a couple of wind damage reports, and a handfull of flash flood reports.
Read the full account →As has been the case in recent months, Iowa saw many large variations in temperature. The first six days of the month were much cooler than usual with temperatures falling to 20�� at Sibley and Spencer on the 3rd.
Read the full account →A considerable amount of snow had accumulated during the previous winter across northern Iowa and southern Minnesota. As the snow melted, river levels rose across northern Iowa with numerous sites reaching minor to moderate flood levels.
Read the full account →Flooding continued along a large part of the Des Moines River Basin from the previous month. The flooding ended in the Stratford area by the afternoon of the 1st, however releases from Saylorville and Red Rock Reservoirs maintained river stages above flood stage through the…
Read the full account →Thunderstorms moving into Palo Alto County not only produced severe weather, but very heavy rainfall as well. In the town of Emmetsburg, 2 1/2 to 4 inches of rain fell in a 45 minute period, causing local flash flooding in the are as well as many flooded basements.
Read the full account →Very warm and humid air was in place over Iowa in advance of an approaching frontal system. Dew point temperatures were approaching 80 degrees F. over a large part of Iowa. Initially, a line of thunderstorms developed from southwest Minnesota, southwest into Nebraska.
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