4,632 first-hand accounts of flood events in Iowa, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
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 →A weak cold front moved southeast across Iowa early on the 4th and had become stationary east-west to the south of the state. The thermal gradient increased during the day and moisture pooled along the front by evening.
Read the full account →A weak cold front moved southeast across Iowa early on the 4th and had become stationary east-west to the south of the state. The thermal gradient increased during the day and moisture pooled along the front by evening.
Read the full account →June 2010 temperatures averaged 71.4�� or 1.6�� above normal while precipitation totaled 10.45 inches or 5.81 inches above normal. This ranks as the wettest and 33rd warmest June among 138 years of state records and set the stage for significant river flooding.
Read the full account →June 2010 temperatures averaged 71.4�� or 1.6�� above normal while precipitation totaled 10.45 inches or 5.81 inches above normal. This ranks as the wettest and 33rd warmest June among 138 years of state records and set the stage for significant river flooding.
Read the full account →June 2010 temperatures averaged 71.4�� or 1.6�� above normal while precipitation totaled 10.45 inches or 5.81 inches above normal. This ranks as the wettest and 33rd warmest June among 138 years of state records and set the stage for significant river flooding.
Read the full account →June 2010 temperatures averaged 71.4�� or 1.6�� above normal while precipitation totaled 10.45 inches or 5.81 inches above normal. This ranks as the wettest and 33rd warmest June among 138 years of state records and set the stage for significant river flooding.
Read the full account →A weak cold front moved southeast across Iowa early on the 4th and had become stationary east-west to the south of the state. The thermal gradient increased during the day and moisture pooled along the front by evening.
Read the full account →A weak cold front moved southeast across Iowa early on the 4th and had become stationary east-west to the south of the state. The thermal gradient increased during the day and moisture pooled along the front by evening.
Read the full account →June 2010 temperatures averaged 71.4�� or 1.6�� above normal while precipitation totaled 10.45 inches or 5.81 inches above normal. This ranks as the wettest and 33rd warmest June among 138 years of state records and set the stage for significant river flooding.
Read the full account →In association with a stationary front, a large complex of thunderstorms travelled generally along and south of the Interstate 80 corridor during the afternoon and early evening of the 23rd.
Read the full account →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 →A strong weather system moved through the central U.S. from the 21st through the 23rd of the month. Strong convection formed north of a warm frontal boundary lifting north through the state.
Read the full account →July 2010 temperatures averaged 71.4�� or 1.6�� above normal while precipitation totaled 10.45 inches or 5.81 inches above normal. This ranks as the wettest and 33rd warmest July among 138 years of state records.
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 →The atmosphere on July 11, 2025, was primed for heavy rainfall, featuring a slow-moving frontal boundary that tapped into a corridor of abundant moisture to its south.
Read the full account →Rainfall of 5 to 15 inches during a 30 hour period caused widespread lowland, crop, urban, and river flooding. Rivers and streams including the Big Sioux, Little Sioux, West Fork Little Sioux, and Floyd Rivers were over flood stage for 2 to 6 days.
Read the full account →A warm front extended east to west across the Upper Mississippi Valley on June 7, which provided the focus for thunderstorms producing excessive rainfall. In fact, these storms exhibited very high rainfall rates, which led to 1 to 2 inch rainfall amounts in an hour.
Read the full account →Heavy rain-producing showers and thunderstorms moved across parts of southeast Iowa, northeast Missouri, and western Illinois during the late evening of June 14 and early morning of June 15.
Read the full account →Heavy rain-producing showers and thunderstorms moved across parts of southeast Iowa, northeast Missouri, and western Illinois during the late evening of June 14 and early morning of June 15.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms with heavy rain moved across portions of northeast Iowa during the evening of September 3rd. Rainfall amounts of 1.5 to 4 inches produced some flash flooding across Allamakee and Clayton Counties.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms repeatedly tracked from northeast Nebraska southeast along the Missouri River Valley of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa during the early morning hours of August 22.
Read the full account →Scattered thunderstorms developed along a strong frontal boundary, which moved across northwest Iowa late in the night of August 8 and early morning of August 9.
Read the full account →The heavy rainfall mentioned above resulted in flooding along the Skunk River. In fact, the river crested about a foot over the all time record stage at Ames, eclipsing the infamous 1993 flood event.
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