Alert archive / Iowa / River Flood Warnings in 2026

River Flood Warning 20, NWS Des Moines, IA

September 15, 2026Polk County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this river flood warning at Sep 15, 2026, 1:45 PM CDT for Polk County, Iowa. It was in force for 28 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 15, 2026, 1:45 PM CDT (18:45 UTC)
Expired
Sep 16, 2026, 6:05 PM CDT
In force
28 hr
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
Minor

County Polk County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 13 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:47 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 Raccoon River at Des Moines Fleur Dr (DEMI4).

Action stage
8 ft
Minor stage
12 ft
Moderate stage
16 ft
Major stage
25 ft

This gauge today: stage, forecast and historic crests

Stage from the USGS instantaneous record for site 05484900, 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 Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this river flood warning went out at Sep 15, 12:12 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 15, 12:12 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 15, 10:12 AM CDT, 3 hours 33 minutes before
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</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 15, 9:55 AM CDT, 3 hours 50 minutes before
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<html lang="en">
<head>
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<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Sep 15, 9:57 AM CDT, 3 hours 48 minutes before
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<html lang="en">
<head>
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  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Sep 15, 10:00 AM CDT, 3 hours 45 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Sep 15, 10:10 AM CDT, 3 hours 35 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Sep 15, 12:49 PM CDT, 56 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Sep 15, 12:52 PM CDT, 53 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 14, 7:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Audubon, Cass, Guthrie50 min
Sep 14, 8:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Adams, Cass, Dallas, Guthrie, Madison and 1 more51 min
Sep 15, 1:01 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementDMXAudubon, Guthrie29 min
Sep 15, 1:28 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementDMXAudubon, Cass, Guthrie32 min
Sep 15, 1:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Audubon, Cass, Guthrie32 min
Sep 15, 2:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Guthrie29 min
Sep 15, 2:25 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementDMXDallas35 min
Sep 15, 3:01 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXAdair, Audubon, Cass, Dallas, Guthrie, Madison4 hr
Sep 15, 4:19 AM CDTRiver Flood WatchDMXPolk5 hr
Sep 15, 6:59 AM CDTRiver Flood WatchDMXPolk8 hr
Sep 15, 8:08 AM CDTRiver Flood WatchDMXCass8 hr
Sep 15, 2:13 PM CDTRiver Flood WarningDMXDallas, Polk4 hr
Sep 15, 3:30 PM CDTAreal Flood WarningDMXAdair22 hr

Nearby

River Flood Warnings in Iowa, 2026Every river flood warning 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive; the gauge from the NWS water service and the USGS.