Alert archive / Iowa / Flood Watches in 2026

Flood Watch 13, NWS Des Moines, IA

September 13, 202640 counties in Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this flood watch at Sep 13, 2026, 8:19 PM CDT for 40 counties in Iowa. It took effect at Sep 14, 2026, 7:00 AM CDT. It was in force for 71 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 13, 2026, 8:19 PM CDT (01:19 UTC)
In effect from
Sep 14, 2026, 7:00 AM CDT
Expired
Sep 17, 2026, 6:24 AM CDT
In force
71 hr
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Flood severity
None
All 40 counties

Adair County, IA, Adams County, IA, Appanoose County, IA, Audubon County, IA, Black Hawk County, IA, Boone County, IA, Bremer County, IA, Butler County, IA, Calhoun County, IA, Carroll County, IA, Cass County, IA, Clarke County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Davis County, IA, Decatur County, IA, Franklin County, IA, Greene County, IA, Grundy County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Hamilton County, IA, Hardin County, IA, Jasper County, IA, Lucas County, IA, Madison County, IA, Mahaska County, IA, Marion County, IA, Marshall County, IA, Monroe County, IA, Polk County, IA, Poweshiek County, IA, Ringgold County, IA, Story County, IA, Tama County, IA, Taylor County, IA, Union County, IA, Wapello County, IA, Warren County, IA, Wayne County, IA, Webster County, IA, Wright County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 14 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:21 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 nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 344 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 2026-09-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 2026-09-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -37 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-416 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1019 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
319 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The office that day

Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 14, 10:33 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementDMXCass42 min
Sep 14, 12:06 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementDMXBoone24 min
Sep 14, 3:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBremer28 min

Nearby

Flood Watches in Iowa, 2026Every flood watch in 2026

Sources

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