Flash Flood in Iowa, July 16 to 17, 1996

Name: Flash Flood in Iowa, July 16 to 17, 1996
Start: 1996-07-16T21:30
End: 1996-07-17T03:00
Location: Iowa

July 16 to 17, 1996 · NWS FSD · 1 event in 1 county or zone

5 inches caused flash flooding of roads including urban areas, as well as creeks and lowlands. Several levee failures were reported along Wolf Creek.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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Wind
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Heat and drought
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Fire, smoke and dust
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1.0 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS FSD wrote it up.

Heavy rainfall of 6 to 11.5 inches caused flash flooding of roads including urban areas, as well as creeks and lowlands. Several levee failures were reported along Wolf Creek. Basement flooding and some flooding of ground level floors occurred.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Woodbury

When: July 16, 9:30 PM CST to July 17, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Woodbury County, Sioux City
Property damage: $1.0 million
Coordinates: 42.390, -96.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Iowa in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, July 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5556819.