Flooding in Iowa, April 13 to 30, 2001

Name: Flooding in Iowa, April 13 to 30, 2001
Start: 2001-04-13T00:00
End: 2001-04-30T23:59
Location: Iowa

April 13 to 30, 2001 · NWS ARX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The combination of snow melt runoff and heavy rains caused the Mississippi River to rise to levels second only to the all-time record flood of April 1965. 9 feet on April 21.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $4.5 million
Crop damage: None recorded
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.

The combination of snow melt runoff and heavy rains caused the Mississippi River to rise to levels second only to the all-time record flood of April 1965. At Lansing (Allamakee County), the river crested at 19.9 feet on April 21. Further downstream, McGregor and Guttenberg (Clayton County) crested at 23.8 feet on April 20 and 21.6 feet on April 22 respectively. Considerable damage was done to homes and businesses by the high water, especially in the small towns of Marquette and Guttenberg (Clayton County). Overall damage costs due to the high water were estimated between 4 and 5 million dollars. This resulted in Allamakee and Clayton County being eligible for federal disaster relief funds. Even though the river began falling during the latter part of the month, water levels remained above flood stage until early May.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 12, 2:10 PM CST, 9 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 12, 2:10 PM CST, 9 hours 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
310 PM CDT THU APR 12 2001

FORECAST CONCERNS THIS PACKAGE INCLUDE WINDS THIS EVENING...THEN
CLOUD TRENDS AND TEMPERATURES. ALSO RAIN CHANCES FRIDAY NIGHT.

18Z SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS VIGOROUS LOW OVER NORTHERN LAKE
SUPERIOR. STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT CONTINUES ACROSS ALL OF THE GREAT
LAKES WITH WINDS NOW GUSTING TO 30 TO 35 MPH. VISIBLE SATELLITE
IMAGERY SHOWING EXTENSIVE CLOUDS ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES. SOME
BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS SHOWING UP IN MINNESOTA.

12Z MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT. SOME MINOR DIFFERENCES IN THE QPF
FIELDS THROUGH 48 HOURS...WITH ETA PAINTING A LITTLE MORE FARTHER
SOUTH ON FRIDAY NIGHT.

CLOUDS SHOULD BEGIN TO BREAK UP TONIGHT AS SYSTEM PULLS NORTHEAST.
EASTERN AND NORTHERN AREAS WILL BE LATEST TO CLEAR. GRADIENT ALSO
WEAKENS RAPIDLY THIS EVENING. THUS WILL END WIND ADVISORIES WITH
THIS ISSUANCE. WEAK RIDGING BUILDS IN LATE TONIGHT AND FRIDAY
MORNING. THIS SHOULD ALSO HELP BREAK UP THE CLOUDS AS WELL.

NEXT WEAK SHORTWAVE IN ZONAL FLOW TO APPROACH AREA FRIDAY
AFTERNOON. CLOUDS ON THE INCREASE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON...WITH SKIES
BECOMING CLOUDY ACROSS THE WESTERN ZONES. OTHERWISE...WAVE TO MOVE
ACROSS THE AREA FRIDAY NIGHT. BEST FORCING REMAINS ACROSS THE
NORTHERN ZONES AND THUS WILL GO WITH HIGHEST POPS THOSE AREAS. SYSTEM
MOVES THROUGH BY SATURDAY MORNING...WITH MODELS INDICATING A DRY
PERIOD UNTIL NEXT WAVE ENTERS THE PICTURE SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY.

IN THE EXTENDED...COLD UPPER LOW DROPS INTO THE GREAT LAKES ON
MONDAY...AND THEN PULLS EASTWARD ON TUESDAY. THUS A COOL DOWN
EXPECTED WITH SOME SHOWERS POSSIBLE....ESPECIALLY SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

HAVE GENERALLY USED A BLEND OF GUIDANCE NUMBERS FOR THIS PACKAGE.

.LSE....NONE.

RABERDING

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Allamakee

When: April 13, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Allamakee forecast zone
Property damage: $2.0 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.284, -91.378 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Clayton

When: April 13, 11:00 PM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Clayton forecast zone
Property damage: $2.5 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
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

Every storm in Iowa in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, April 2001

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: 5238060, 5238061.