Alert archive / Iowa / River Flood Warnings in 2009

River Flood Warning 76, NWS Quad Cities, IA

May 15, 2009Des Moines County, Lee County, Iowa; Hancock County, Henderson County, Illinois

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this river flood warning at May 15, 2009, 3:57 PM CDT for Des Moines County, Lee County, Iowa; Hancock County, Henderson County, Illinois. It took effect at May 17, 2009, 1:00 AM CDT. It was in force for 33 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 15, 2009, 3:57 PM CDT (20:57 UTC)
In effect from
May 17, 2009, 1:00 AM CDT
Expired
May 18, 2009, 9:56 AM CDT
In force
33 hr
Issued by
NWS Quad Cities, IA
Flood severity
Minor

Counties Des Moines County, IA, Lee County, IA, Hancock County, IL, Henderson County, IL

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:56 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The river

Written for the forecast point Mississippi River at Burlington (BRLI4).

Action stage
14 ft
Minor stage
15 ft
Moderate stage
16.5 ft
Major stage
18 ft

This gauge today: stage, forecast and historic crests

Stage from the USGS instantaneous record, one reading an hour, from a day before the product to a day after it ended. Flood stages are today's.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this river flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this river flood warning went out at May 15, 2:52 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 2:52 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
252 PM CDT SUN MAY 15 2009

.SYNOPSIS...
LARGE AREA OF MID CLOUDS CONTINUE PROPAGATING E/SE INTO SOUTHWEST
SECTIONS EARLY THIS AFTN. PERSISTENT BAND OF RAIN OVER CENTRAL
IA SLOWLY SHRINKING AND HAVING DIFFICULTY PUSHING EAST AS IT
ENCOUNTERS SUBSIDENCE REGION WITH SFC-H85 ANTICYCLONE SITUATED
OVER EASTERN IA AND DRIER LOW LEVEL AIR WITH SFC DEWPTS IN THE U20S
TO L30S. SFC ANALYSIS PLACES CENTER OF SFC HIGH OVER SOUTHEAST IA
WITH WARM FRONT DRAPED FROM SD THROUGH EASTERN NE. FEW LOCALES IN
THE SOUTHWEST BEING HELD IN THE UPPER 50S DUE TO CLOUDS... OTHERWISE
WIDESPREAD L60S ELSEWHERE. HARD TO TELL WE ARE RUNNING 10 DEGS
OR SO BELOW NORMAL HIGHS...THANKS TO STRONG MAY SOLAR INSOLATION
AND LIGHT WINDS... MAKING FOR A VERY NICE AFTN.    ..05..

&&

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT AND MONDAY...
CLOUDS WITH IMPACTS ON TEMPS AND MINOR PCPN CHCS MAIN ISSUES.
SFC HIGH WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY SHIFT EAST TONIGHT ALLOWING RETURN
FLOW TO DEVELOP. MID LEVEL WARM ADVECTION CLOUDS AND CIRRUS WITH
JET TO OVERSPREAD CWA NEXT 24 HRS. MODELS GENERALLY SUGGEST
MID LEVEL THETA-E ADVECTION TO WEAKEN WITH TIME DURING PERIOD WITH
MID LEVEL IMPULSE OVER IA PULLING AWAY THIS EVE. GIVEN THIS AND
PRESENCE OF DRIER LOW LEVEL AIR... PLAN TO KEEP THE FCST DRY THROUGH
THE PERIOD THOUGH CAN/T RULE OUT SOME SPRINKLES WITHIN MID DECK.
DEVELOPING SOUTHERLY WINDS AND MID/HIGH CLOUDS SHOULD RESULT IN MUCH
WARMER MINS MOST AREAS TNGT. ONLY EXCEPTION WILL BE EAST OF THE
MISSISSIPPI WHERE RETURN FLOW DELAYED LONGEST DUE TO PROXIMITY OF THE
SFC HIGH. SKIES THERE THIS EVE MAINLY CLEAR WITH GRADUAL INCREASE
OVERNIGHT... SO GOOD RADIATIONAL SETUP TO ALLOW DECENT DROP WITH
SOME AREAS LIKELY TO DIP INTO THE 30S BEFORE SOME RECOVERY LATE WITH
DEVELOPING SE WINDS. MONDAY MAXES A BIT CHALLENGING AS CLOUDS COULD
PLAY ROLE ON EXTENT OF WARMING. GFS/NAM BUFR SOUNDINGS SHOW MIX
POTENTIAL TO NEAR H85... WHICH BROUGHT DOWN TO SFC YIELDS L/M 70S ON
HIGHS. HOWEVER...MODELS SHOW MID DECK TRAVERSING THE AREA MUCH OF
THE MORNING BEFORE EXITING IN AFTN. COULD BE ENOUGH TO LIMIT WARMING
POTENTIAL ESPECIALLY EAST... WHILE SOLAR INSOLATION AND DEEPER
MIXING COULD BE ENOUGH TO SEE LATE DAY SURGE WEST TO AT OR ABOVE WARM
SIDE OF GUIDANCE. PLAYED IT SOMEWHAT CONSERVATIVELY DUE TO UNCERTAINTY
ON CLOUDS AND SIDED NEAR TO JUST BELOW LOWER SIDE OF GUIDANCE EAST
AND WENT NEAR WARM SIDE IN THE WEST.     ..05..

.LONG TERM...MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH NEXT SUNDAY...
QUIET WX WILL BE SEEN MONDAY NIGHT AS WAA CONTINUES ACROSS THE AREA
AHEAD OF THE NEXT FRONT. MODELS HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THE PLACE ON
WHERE THE FRONT WILL STALL LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING. DPROG/DT
OF THE GFS/ECMWF/WRF SHOWS A BACK DOOR COLD FRONT CLEARING LAKE
MICHIGAN BEFORE STALLING OUT ACROSS THE CWFA. A BACK DOOR COLD FRONT
CLEARING LAKE MICHIGAN BEFORE STALLING ACROSS THE CWFA IS
CLIMATOLOGICALLY FAVORED THIS TIME OF YEAR. THE DIFFERENCES WITH
EACH MODEL RUN HAS BEEN HOW FAR SOUTH THE FRONT GETS BEFORE
STALLING. THE 12Z RUNS HAVE IT THE FURTHEST NORTH DUE TO THE
CONTINUED WAA AND BUILDING OF THE UPPER RIDGE TO THE SOUTH.
STILL...A STALL SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HIGHWAY 20 AND 30 IS THE MOST
LIKELY OF ANY SCENARIO. ALL MODELS SHOW ANY FORCING TO BE POST
FRONTAL AND MOISTURE IS SCARCE. THEREFORE WILL GO WITH SCHC POPS
ACROSS THE FAR NORTH FOR TUESDAY AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING.

STRONG WAA DEVELOPS TUESDAY NIGHT AND PUSHES THE FRONT BACK NORTH BY
SUNRISE WITH FAIRLY GOOD MIXING OCCURRING ON WEDNESDAY. TEMPERATURES
SHOULD BE ABOVE NORMAL ON WEDNESDAY WITH SOME 80S POSSIBLE.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT ON...OVERALL QUIET WX IS EXPECTED. YET ANOTHER FRONT
IS PROGGED TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA THURSDAY/THURSDAY NIGHT.
HOWEVER...MOISTURE IS EVEN MORE SCARCE WITH THIS FRONT AND THE
FORCING LOOKS TO BE POST FRONTAL. I HAVE OPTED TO GO WITH SILENT 20
POPS FOR THURSDAY NIGHT AS THE BETTER FORCING COMES ACROSS THE AREA
BUT I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THURSDAY NIGHT REMAINS DRY. ANOTHER
COOL CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE THEN SETTLES ACROSS THE WESTERN GREAT
LAKES FOR FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THIS HIGH WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES
NEAR OR A LITTLE BELOW NORMAL WITH EAST TO NORTHEAST FLOW OFF THE
LAKES.          ...08...

&&

.AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS TO PERSIST THROUGH 18/18Z. WARM ADVECTION MID CLOUDS WILL
MOVE ACROSS TERMINALS WITH POSSIBLY SOME SPRINKLES. LIGHT WINDS TO
BECOME S/SE AT 5-10 KTS TNGT AS SFC HIGH SHIFTS E. COMBINATION OF MIXING
AND STRENGTHENING MSLP GRADIENT WILL RESULT IN GUSTY SOUTH WINDS ON
MONDAY.   ..05..

&&

.DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IA...NONE.
IL...NONE.
MO...NONE.

&&

05/08
Hazardous weather outlook, May 15, 4:30 AM CDT, 11 hours 27 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
430 AM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009

IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007-
009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-160930-
BUCHANAN-DELAWARE-DUBUQUE-BENTON-LINN-JONES-JACKSON-IOWA-JOHNSON-
CEDAR-CLINTON-MUSCATINE-SCOTT-KEOKUK-WASHINGTON-LOUISA-JEFFERSON-
HENRY IA-DES MOINES-VAN BUREN-LEE-JO DAVIESS-STEPHENSON-CARROLL-
WHITESIDE-ROCK ISLAND-HENRY IL-BUREAU-PUTNAM-MERCER-HENDERSON-
WARREN-HANCOCK-MCDONOUGH-SCOTLAND-CLARK-
430 AM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL
ILLINOIS...NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST
CENTRAL IOWA...NORTHEAST IOWA...SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON
AND EARLY THIS EVENING...MAINLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM
ROCKFORD...TO THE QUAD CITIES...TO OTTUMWA. THE PRIMARY THREAT
WILL BE LARGE HAIL...AND A SECONDARY THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING
WIND AND ISOLATED TORNADOES.

IN ADDITION...THERE IS A WIDESPREAD THREAT FOR FLASH FLOODING
TODAY. SEVERAL ROUNDS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN ARE EXPECTED TO
AFFECT THE REGION DURING THE DAY TODAY AND INTO EARLY EVENING.
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED WITH RAINFALL TOTALS UP TO 3
INCHES IN SPOTS. WITH THE GROUND AT OR NEAR SATURATION...HEAVY
RAINFALL WILL LIKELY LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING.

THE ROCK RIVER AND THE IOWA RIVER NEAR MARENGO ARE CURRENTLY
EXPERIENCING FLOODING. OTHER RIVERS WILL LIKELY RISE DUE TO THE
WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL TODAY. PLEASE MONITOR THE LATEST FLOOD
STATEMENTS AND FLOOD WARNINGS FOR UPDATES AND DETAILS.

A WARM FRONT WILL LIFT NORTHWARD ACROSS MISSOURI AND INTO
SOUTHERN IOWA TODAY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP
ALONG AND NORTH OF THIS FRONT THROUGHOUT THE DAY. MEANWHILE...
AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL APPROACH THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI
VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON...INCREASING INSTABILITY IN THE ATMOSPHERE.
THE COMBINATION OF THE FRONT...DAYTIME HEATING...AND THE UPPER
LEVEL DISTURBANCE MAY ALLOW THUNDERSTORMS TO APPROACH OR EXCEED
SEVERE LEVELS... PARTICULARLY ALONG AND NEAR THE WARM FRONT
THIS AFTERNOON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

PATCHY FROST WILL BE POSSIBLE SUNDAY MORNING ALONG AND NORTH OF
INTERSTATE 80. COOL...CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE WILL MOVE INTO CENTRAL
IOWA LATE SATURDAY NIGHT. LIGHT WIND NEAR THE HIGH AND MOSTLY
CLEAR SKIES WILL CREATE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR FROST DEVELOPMENT
AS TEMPERATURES DROP INTO THE MIDDLE 30S NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80.

WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE
REGION. IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE
WEATHER.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 15, 2:11 PM CDT, 1 hour 46 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 15, 3:01 PM CDT, 56 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 15, 3:22 PM CDT, 35 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 15, 3:43 PM CDT, 14 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 15, 3:45 PM CDT, 12 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 15, 3:54 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
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The office that day

Everything else NWS Quad Cities, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 9:40 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNDes Moines, Lee6 hr
May 15, 9:52 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNDes Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Lee, Van Buren6 hr
May 15, 10:10 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNClinton, Scott11 hr
May 15, 10:10 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNCedar, Louisa, Muscatine11 hr
May 15, 10:10 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNJohnson, Louisa, Washington11 hr
May 15, 10:10 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNLouisa28 hr
May 15, 10:10 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNLouisa52 hr
May 15, 10:10 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNJohnson, Washington48 hr
May 15, 10:10 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNKeokuk43 hr
May 15, 10:10 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNDes Moines, Henry, Lee4 days
May 15, 10:10 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNLee43 hr
May 15, 11:18 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementDVNLee57 min
May 15, 3:32 PM CDTAreal Flood WarningDVNDes Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Lee, Van Buren16 hr
May 15, 5:43 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNHancock, Henderson, McDonough, Warren6 hr
May 15, 10:39 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNHancock, McDonough4 days
May 15, 10:45 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNHancock3 days
May 15, 11:44 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementDVNHancock61 min
May 15, 12:09 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNHancock, McDonough6 hr
May 15, 3:57 PM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNHenry, Rock Island22 hr
May 15, 3:57 PM CDTRiver Flood WarningDVNClark53 hr

Nearby

River Flood Warnings in Iowa, 2009River Flood Warnings in Illinois, 2009Every river flood warning in 2009

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive; the gauge from the NWS water service and the USGS.