Flood, Kossuth
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kossuth forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.204, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in Iowa, March 9 to 13, 1997
Temperatures for the month of March were slightly above normal with slightly below normal precipitaton. 41 inches of precipitation for the month.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 13 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
- None recorded
- Events
- 13
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.
Temperatures for the month of March were slightly above normal with slightly below normal precipitaton. Preliminary information provided by the State Climatologist Harry Hillaker of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship indicated a statewide average of 1.41 inches of precipitation for the month. This was about 64% of normal. Although the month was rather dry, there was a good deal of snowpack at the start of the month. The snow melted in earnest beginning in the second week of the month. This caused minor to moderate flooding over much of the Iowa and Cedar River basins. Damage was relatively limited as rivers crested only a foot or two above flood stage.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
13 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Winnebago
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Winnebago forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.378, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Worth
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Worth forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.377, -93.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Hancock
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Hancock forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.082, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Cerro Gordo
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cerro Gordo forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.082, -93.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Wright
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Wright forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.733, -93.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Franklin
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Franklin forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.733, -93.262 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Butler
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Butler forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.732, -92.790 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Bremer
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Bremer forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.775, -92.318 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Grundy
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Grundy forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.402, -92.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Black Hawk
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Black Hawk forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.470, -92.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Marshall
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Marshall forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.036, -92.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Tama
- When
- March 9, 6:00 AM CST to March 13, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Tama forecast zone
- Property damage
- $150,000
- Coordinates
- 42.080, -92.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Mississippi, March 9 to 26, 1997
- Flood in Texas, March 9 to 13, 1997
- High Wind in Wyoming, March 9 to 10, 1997
- Flooding in Louisiana, March 9 to 26, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Montana, March 9 to 10, 1997
- High Wind in Ohio, March 9, 1997
- High Wind in Montana, March 9, 1997
- Hail in Nebraska, March 9, 1997
- Hail in Kansas, March 9, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, March 9 to 10, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, March 9, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, March 9, 1997
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, March 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: 5590599, 5590600, 5590601, 5590602, 5590603, 5590604, 5590605, 5590606, 5590607, 5590608, 5590609, 5590610, 5590611.