Flash Flood, Polk
- When
- July 24, 4:30 AM CST to 8:30 AM CST
- Where
- Polk County, Des Moines
- Property damage
- $200,000
- Crop damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 41.686, -93.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Iowa, July 24, 1997
Heavy rains mentioned above in the urban and small stream flooding caused flash flooding in Polk County, specifically in Des Moines. Walnut Creek rose quicky above flood stage.
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
- $200,000
- Crop damage
- $20,000
- 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.
Heavy rains mentioned above in the urban and small stream flooding caused flash flooding in Polk County, specifically in Des Moines. Walnut Creek rose quicky above flood stage. Serious flooding occurred in low areas of the city with rush hour traffic snarled by closed roads that were under water. The rain stopped around sunrise, however 3 to 5 inches had fallen in a two hour period to sunrise. Conditions improved quite rapidly by the end of the rush hour.
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 13 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:29 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
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 24, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in New Jersey, July 24 to 25, 1997
- Tornadoes in Virginia, July 24, 1997
- Flood in Alaska, July 24 to 31, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Waterspout in North Carolina, July 24, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, July 24, 1997
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in South Dakota, July 24 to 25, 1997
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, July 24, 1997
- Heavy Rain in New York, July 24 to 25, 1997
- High Wind in North Carolina, July 24, 1997
- Flood in Iowa, July 24, 1997
- Flood in Iowa, July 24, 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: 5603125.