Flooding in Iowa, July 6 to 10, 1998

For the most part, July was a welcome end to the very wet pattern that dominated Iowa during the month of June. However, during the first week of the month the wet pattern of June did continue. The heaviest rainfall occurred over west central Iowa with Atlantic picking up 5.07 inches of rain on the 5th. Surprisingly, the East Fork of the Nishnabotna River at Atlantic did not reach flood state from these rains. Rainfall from this system in the Raccoon River basin amounted to two to four niches, causing another significant rise on both the North and South branches of the Raccoon, and eventually downstream on the mainstem river. The crest at Van Meter was 18.83 feet on the 7th, quite respectable for an annual peak in most years, but almost 4.5 feet below the crest that occurred in June of 1998. Southwest 18th Street in Des Moines on the Raccoon River crested 14 hours later at 16.51 feet on the 8th, nearly closing Fleur Drive, a major artery into downtown Des Moines. Flood stages were also reached on numerous smaller tributaries in the Des Moines basin from this storm. Damage was relatively minor from this event. The rest of the month was relatively dry with no further flooding recorded.