Iowa, 1998

Flood in Iowa, August 5, 1998

August 5, 1998 · NWS DMX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The same upper level warm core low mentioned a couple days prior continued to spin over Iowa. During the night heavy rainfall developed much like occurs in the central dense overcast of a tropical system.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$10,000
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 DMX wrote it up.

The same upper level warm core low mentioned a couple days prior continued to spin over Iowa. During the night heavy rainfall developed much like occurs in the central dense overcast of a tropical system. The rain was rapid and tropical in nature with two to four inches of rainfall in a little over an hours time. Urban flooding was the only problem in the county as antecedent soil conditions were extremely dry from a record dry month in July. Damage was very minor in spite of the high amouts of rainfall.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Black Hawk

When
August 5, 2:00 AM CST to 4:00 AM CST
Where
Black Hawk County, Waterloo
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
42.470, -92.309 (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

More

Every storm in Iowa in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, August 1998

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: 5657400.