Flood, Fayette
- When
- May 17, 12:00 AM CST to May 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Fayette forecast zone
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Crop damage
- $300,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 42.863, -91.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in Iowa, May 17 to 19, 1999
Serious flooding took place along the Turkey and Volga River, causing considerable damage to homes, businesses and crops. In fact, Clayton and Fayette County were both declared federal disaster areas.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- $5.0 million
- Crop damage
- $550,000
- Events
- 2
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 ARX wrote it up.
Serious flooding took place along the Turkey and Volga River, causing considerable damage to homes, businesses and crops. In fact, Clayton and Fayette County were both declared federal disaster areas. Many county roads and bridges were washed away, keeping main highways closed for two days. River levels rose nearly a foot an hour, inundating the towns of Volga, Littleport and Garber with as much as 8 feet of water. LP tanks and cars were seen floating away. Even a dozen pigs were stranded on the roof of a barn due to rising flood waters. The Turkey River at Garber (Clayton County) crested at 30.6 feet, breaking the previous flood of record, which was 30.1 feet on May 15, 1991.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Clayton
- When
- May 17, 12:00 AM CST to May 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Clayton forecast zone
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Crop damage
- $250,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 42.845, -91.341 (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
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 17, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, May 17, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 17 to 18, 1999
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Arkansas, May 17, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, May 17, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, May 17, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 17, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 17, 1999
- Flash Flood in Iowa, May 17, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 17, 1999
- Lightning Strike in Ohio, May 17, 1999
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 17, 1999
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, May 1999
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: 5696210, 5696211.