Iowa, 2001

Flooding in Iowa, February 24 to 25, 2001

February 24 to 25, 2001 · NWS DMX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A major storm produced significant precipitation across the HSA on the 23rd and 24th, producing mostly rain and a little light snow. the center of the low pressure moved from the southwest to the northeast corner of Iowa, passing nearly over Des Moines.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
$30,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

A major storm produced significant precipitation across the HSA on the 23rd and 24th, producing mostly rain and a little light snow. the center of the low pressure moved from the southwest to the northeast corner of Iowa, passing nearly over Des Moines. This track of the low allowed substantial amounts of warm air to be drawn north, producing rain all the way into southeast Minnesota. Fortunately, the heaviest rainfall was over southern Iowa where the existing snow cover was mostly melted. Some locations in the south received well in excess of an inch of rain, which caused some minor flooding in the Charition River Basin. Promise City on the South Fork Chariton River reached 20.61 feet on the 25th. Flood stage is 18 feet. Flood damage was relatively minor and limited to agricultural land for the most part.

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 Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 3:26 AM CST, 8 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 3:26 AM CST, 8 hours 34 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
324 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2000

SYS PANNING OUT IN THE MACRO SCALE AS XPCTD, HWVR DIF IN ACTUAL
SENSIBLE WX MAKING FCST DIF TDA.  1ST SHOT OF PCPN LFTG NWD ACRS IA
WITH MST AREAS S OF HWY 30 AOA 0C AT 2M NOW AND WL DROP ICE STORM
WRNG THOSE AREAS.  TO THE N, FEEL WRNG GUD THRU THE MRNG HRS BFR
TEMPS RISE.  NXT ROUND OF PCPN SHUD ARRIVE THIS AFTN AS CNVTCN LFTS
NWD OUT OF TX/OK AREA.  WL NOT GET CUTE WITH TIMING, BUT XPCT A BRK
IN PCPN FOR ABT A 4 HR PD OR SO.  POTENTIAL FOR BOW TYP CNVCTN AS
DRY SLOT MOVS UP THIS EVE, WITH COLD AIR TO FOLLOW.  AS FOR WSW OVR
THE N, WL TRIM BACK TO AREA KMCW-KFOD AND NW ON THAT.  DON'T THINK
CRITERIA WL BE MET, BUT WL PROB BE REPLACED WITH ADVY.  SNWFL AMTS
IN WRAP ARND NOT LIKELY TO BE MUCH BUT WNDS WL CREATE PROBS WITH NEW
SNW.  LO PULS OUT QUICKLY AND SHUD SEE CLRG SPRDG OVR STATE SUN AFTN
AND MSTLY CLR BY SUN NGT.  MAJOR READJ TO EFP PKG WITH MUCH LESS
PCPN AND ADJ TO TEMPS WITH ARC BUBBLE DROPPING ACRS CNTRL U.S. WED.
DSM ++202   ALO ++301

.DSM...FZRN ADVY THIS MRNG N OF HWY 30
       WINTER STORM WATCH SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH NOON SUNDAY
       NW OF KMCW-KFOD

MS FEB 01

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Appanoose

When
February 24, 12:00 PM CST to February 25, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Appanoose forecast zone
Property damage
$8,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.743, -92.869 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Clarke

When
February 24, 12:00 PM CST to February 25, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Clarke forecast zone
Property damage
$8,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.029, -93.785 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Lucas

When
February 24, 12:00 PM CST to February 25, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Lucas forecast zone
Property damage
$8,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.029, -93.328 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Wayne

When
February 24, 12:00 PM CST to February 25, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Wayne forecast zone
Property damage
$8,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.740, -93.327 (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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, February 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: 5230940, 5230941, 5230942, 5230943.