Flash Flood, Palo Alto
- When
- July 22, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Palo Alto County, Graettinger
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 43.082, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Iowa, July 22, 1997
A small cluster of thunderstorms developed in a very unstable airmass. Movement was very slow.
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.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- 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 DMX wrote it up.
A small cluster of thunderstorms developed in a very unstable airmass. Movement was very slow. In addition "training" occurred as the cells backdeveloped over the northern part of the county. The storms dumped 8 inches of rain on the town of Graettinger causing flash flooding. The flooding in the city was serious enough that the city sewage plant was inundated causing the sewage to spill into the river. Extensive flooding of homes in the area also occurred.
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 169 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:02 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flash Flood and Hail in Nebraska, July 22, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Ohio, July 22, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Georgia, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in Texas, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Arkansas, July 22, 1997
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, July 22, 1997
- Hail in South Dakota, July 22, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, July 22, 1997
- Flash Flood in Alabama, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Kentucky, July 22, 1997
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, July 1997
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: 5603028.