4,632 first-hand accounts of flood events in Iowa, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
A cold front entered the state from the northwest. The atmosphere became very unstable with CAPE rising to near 5000 J/kg and lifted indices falling to around -10 C.
Read the full account →An unstable airmass was located over Iowa. A cold front moved into the western part of the state during the afternoon. Thunderstorms erupted around mid day and tracked east across the southern and eastern part of the state.
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 →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 cluster of thunderstorms developed and moved eastward across Delaware County during the early morning hours of August 13. One storm was severe downing a tree in Manchester, IA.
Read the full account →An area of showers and thunderstorms developed over portions of western and central Iowa during the evening of August 2 and moved into eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois during the early morning of August 3.
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 →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 →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 strong warm advection pattern set up over Iowa during the evening of the 21st into the morning hours of the 22nd. Strong moisture transport pooled moisture over the state with precipitable water values increasing to 2 to 2.3 inches over the north half of the state.
Read the full account →The nearly stationary frontal boundary that had plagued Iowa for the previous couple days remained in place, setting the stage for strong thunderstorm development to the north of the front.
Read the full account →A very humid airmass was in place over Iowa as southerly flow drew moisture north from the remnants of former Hurricane Alex. Precipitable water values rose to over 2 inches over most of the CWA with most between 2.2 and 2.85 inches. These values represent record high values.
Read the full account →A very unstable airmass was in place over Iowa ahead of an approaching cold front and short wave. The cold front itself was over South Dakota, and set off a line of severe thunderstorms in front of it.
Read the full account →A very unstable airmass was in place over Iowa as a cold front approached from the west. High temperatures the previous day were in the upper 80s and 90s for the most part, with 101 at Fairfield. Dewpoint readings were in the 70s east to near 80 over the west.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms with extremely heavy rain developed along a stationary front and moved from northeast Iowa into northwest Illinois. Some locations measured 5 to 7 inches of rainfall, causing localized flash flooding and pushing numerous creeks out of their banks.
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 large convective complex developed to the northwest of Iowa during the night of the 12th into the morning of the 13th. Precipitable water values were very high, in excess of 2.1 inches over Minnesota.
Read the full account →A large convective complex developed to the northwest of Iowa during the night of the 12th into the morning of the 13th. Precipitable water values were very high, in excess of 2.1 inches over Minnesota.
Read the full account →A large convective complex developed to the northwest of Iowa during the night of the 12th into the morning of the 13th. Precipitable water values were very high, in excess of 2.1 inches over Minnesota.
Read the full account →A nearly stationary front extended east to west across southern Iowa. Moisture pooling took place with the precipitable water value rising to around 1.25 inches by the morning of the 16th. CAPE was around 1500 J/kg.
Read the full account →A stationary front that had been over southern Iowa began to lift north as a warm front on the morning of the 17th. The atmosphere had become more unstable during the morning with CAPE increasing to 1000 to 2000 J/kg.
Read the full account →An unstable airmass was in place over northern Iowa with an outflow boundary draped across the north central counties into southwest Minnesota. This boundary served as a focusing mechanism for thunderstorm development.
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