Flash Flood, Palo Alto
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
- Where
- Palo Alto County, Emmetsburg
- Property damage
- $150,000
- Crop damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 43.082, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Iowa, July 26, 1997
Thunderstorms moving into Palo Alto County not only produced severe weather, but very heavy rainfall as well. In the town of Emmetsburg, 2 1/2 to 4 inches of rain fell in a 45 minute period, causing local flash flooding in the are as well as many flooded basements.
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
- $150,000
- 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.
Thunderstorms moving into Palo Alto County not only produced severe weather, but very heavy rainfall as well. In the town of Emmetsburg, 2 1/2 to 4 inches of rain fell in a 45 minute period, causing local flash flooding in the are as well as many flooded basements. Reports of 4 to 5 feet of water in basements were received. Several roads were closed for a period of time as water over a foot deep overtopped them in places. The ground was quite wet before the rain fell as significant rainfall had been received just two to four days prior.
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 169 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:58 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
- Heat in Illinois, July 26 to 27, 1997
- Heat in Missouri, July 26 to 28, 1997
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Ohio, July 26 to 27, 1997
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Wisconsin, July 26, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Michigan, July 26, 1997
- Tornado in Iowa, July 26, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 26, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, July 26, 1997
- Tornado in Ohio, July 26, 1997
- Heat in Indiana, July 26 to 27, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Ohio, July 26, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Iowa, July 26, 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: 5603146.