4,632 first-hand accounts of flood events in Iowa, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
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 →A warm front lifted northeast across Iowa during the day on the 7th as a cold front approached from the northwest. The cold front reached northwest Iowa by the early morning hours of the 8th, however a shortwave lifted northeast across the state during the afternoon and evening…
Read the full account →A warm front lifted northeast across Iowa during the day on the 7th as a cold front approached from the northwest. The cold front reached northwest Iowa by the early morning hours of the 8th, however a shortwave lifted northeast across the state during the afternoon and evening…
Read the full account →Just as the first MCS from the previous night exited the state, another round of strong convection moved in from the northwest. The airmass remained quite unstable in spite of the activity from overnight as unstable air replaced the airmass over the state and reloaded the…
Read the full account →A strong warm front was positioned southwest of Iowa during the early morning of the the 24th. A 40 to 50 kt low level jet transported a considerable amount of moisture northeast across the frontal boundary.
Read the full account →A strong warm front was positioned southwest of Iowa during the early morning of the the 24th. A 40 to 50 kt low level jet transported a considerable amount of moisture northeast across the frontal boundary.
Read the full account →A strong warm front was positioned southwest of Iowa during the early morning of the the 24th. A 40 to 50 kt low level jet transported a considerable amount of moisture northeast across the frontal boundary.
Read the full account →A strong warm front was positioned southwest of Iowa during the early morning of the the 24th. A 40 to 50 kt low level jet transported a considerable amount of moisture northeast across the frontal boundary.
Read the full account →A strong warm front was positioned southwest of Iowa during the early morning of the the 24th. A 40 to 50 kt low level jet transported a considerable amount of moisture northeast across the frontal boundary.
Read the full account →A cold front moved through Iowa during the afternoon of the 11th into the morning of the 12th. The front stalled over southeast Iowa in response to a strong upper level ridge of high pressure building in the central and southeast U.S.
Read the full account →A cold front moved through Iowa during the afternoon of the 11th into the morning of the 12th. The front stalled over southeast Iowa in response to a strong upper level ridge of high pressure building in the central and southeast U.S.
Read the full account →The warm front from the previous night lifted north of the state as low pressure pushed northeast out of Kansas across northwest Iowa. The atmosphere became quite unstable. Lifted indices fell to -6 to -8, with CAPE values in the 1000 to 2000 J/kg range.
Read the full account →A strong weather system moved through the central U.S. during the late afternoon of the 3rd through the early morning of the 4th. The system resembled a winter type system as strong low pressure at the surface developed over Kansas and moved northeast into Missouri.
Read the full account →A strong weather system moved through the central U.S. during the late afternoon of the 3rd through the early morning of the 4th. The system resembled a winter type system as strong low pressure at the surface developed over Kansas and moved northeast into Missouri.
Read the full account →A cold front pushed through Iowa and Illinois during the afternoon and evening of June 19, bringing severe thunderstorms and flooding to much of the area.
Read the full account →A cold front pushed through Iowa and Illinois during the afternoon and evening of June 19, bringing severe thunderstorms and flooding to much of the area.
Read the full account →A cold front pushed through Iowa and Illinois during the afternoon and evening of June 19, bringing severe thunderstorms and flooding to much of the area.
Read the full account →A cold front pushed through Iowa and Illinois during the afternoon and evening of June 19, bringing severe thunderstorms and flooding to much of the area.
Read the full account →Rapid snow melt after a long period of sub-freezing weather resulted in ice jams along the Raccoon River. Ice began jamming near the Van Meter area during the evening of the 9th. Water backed up in fields downstream of Van Meter.
Read the full account →Warm weather and melting snow continued to cause problems with rivers over north central Iowa through the 12th and 13th. Ice jamming occurred along the Winnebago near Mason City and the Des Moines River north of Fort Dodge.
Read the full account →A nearly stationary front was located across southeast Iowa. A strong upper level low pressure system lifted northeast across the central U.S. An area of thunderstorms developed along the front and trained northeast across southeast Iowa.
Read the full account →An extremely unstable airmass remained in place over Iowa on the afternoon of the 26th. Low pressure was over southeast South Dakota, with a warm front extending east-southeast into east central Iowa and a cold front extending southwest into northwest Kansas.
Read the full account →A very unstable airmass was in place over Iowa during the late afternoon and evening of the 22nd. Surface temperatures warmed into the upper 80s to low 90s over much of the state with dew point temperatures rising into the mid 70s to low 80s.
Read the full account →A very humid and unstable airmass was in place over Iowa during the evening of the 11th into the morning of the 12th. A strong push if moisture pushed precipitable water values to over 2 inches over southern Iowa by evening.
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