Flooding and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 21, 2001

Name: Flooding and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 21, 2001
Start: 2001-07-21T02:52
End: 2001-07-21T05:30
Location: Iowa

July 21, 2001 · NWS DVN · 6 events in 3 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 DVN wrote it up.

Event Summary for 7/21/01:Scattered thunderstorms developed during the early morning, producing isolated reports of damaging winds. A microburst was likely to blame for flattening a corn field in Central City. Strong winds also whipped through Davenport, just prior to the start of The Quad City Times Bix 7 Road Race, toppling the race starting tower. No injuries were reported. Aside from the isolated damaging wind reports, the main threat with the storms was very heavy rain. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches produced localized flooding of streets in portions of Buchanan and Scott counties.

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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 21, 12:53 AM CST, 1 hour 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 21, 12:53 AM CST, 1 hour 59 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
153 AM CDT SAT JUL 21 2001

SHRA/TSRA DEVELOPING ON SCHEDULE THIS MRNG...MAINLY N OF A LINE
THRU KFOD-KCID-KORD. MOST OF THIS ACTIVITY IS ELEVATED...BEING
HELPED ALONG BY H5/H7 DISTURBANCE IN AREA OF ELEVATED MSTR. SFC MESO
ANALYSIS INDICATES BNDRYS IN AND AROUND CWA...WITH STNRY FNT FM SERN
NE INTO E CTRL MO. DEWPOINTS IN MID 70S COVER MOST OF THE CWA...WITH
THE NWRN AND SWRN SECTIONS BEING THE EXCEPTIONS. SLATER PROFILER
INDICATING H5/H7 DISTURBANCE PASSAGE IN PROCESS...AND THIS IS
SUPPORTED BY KDMX 88D RETURNS.

FOR OUR CWA...THE AVN...ETA...AND RUC VERIFIED BEST WITH RESPECT TO
UA FEATURES. ALL 3 MODELS INDICATED AN H7 WAVE FM SRN MN INTO NRN
IA...WITH AVN HAVING BEST PLACEMENT OF IT (W OF THE OTHER TWO).
MODELS THEN PROGRESS THE H5/H7 DISTURBANCE EWD. EXPECT PRESENT PCPN
TO INCRS IN COVERAGE THRU THIS MORNING AS IT MOVS SLOWLY EWD...WITH
BEST CHANCES N OF A LINE THRU MARENGO...WAPELLO...AND GALESBURG.
PCPN PSBL ACRS REST OF CWA TOO...JUST LOWER CHANCES. GIVEN RELATIVELY
SLOW MVMT AND RELATIVELY HIGH MSTR (WATER VAPOR SHOWS MSTR PLUME
IN PLACE)...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS PSBL. (STMS IN GRANT CO OF WI
RECENTLY PRODUCED 88D ONE-HOUR ESTIMATES OF 2 INCHES.) MARGINALLY
SVR STMS PSBL THIS MORNING. PCPN WL GRADUALLY END FROM W TO E TDA
ACRS CWA...WITH PCPN PSBL AGAIN SUN WITH H5 DISTURBANCE MOVG OVR
REGION.

TEMPS ARND 90 LKLY BOTH TDA AND SUN...WITH HIGHER TEMPS PSBL SUN AS
ANY PCPN AND CLD DEBRIS WL HELP KEEPS TEMPS DOWN SLIGHTLY TDA. WITH
DWPTS IN THE MID 70S...HEAT INDICES WL BECOME A CONCERN ESPCLY SUN
WITH HIGHER TEMPS. AS DAY SHIFT ON FRI SAID...HEAT ADVISORY MAY HAVE
TO BE CONSIDERED. WL DEFER HEAT-RELATED HEADLINES TO NEXT SHIFT OR
TWO...BUT WL PLAY UP THE HEAT IN THIS MRNG/S SWO.

EXTENDED...

GOING EXTENDED LOOKS GOOD. YESTERDAY (FRI) PM/S AFDMLI EXTENDED
DISCUSSION STILL COVERS SITN WELL...SO SEE LITTLE NEED TO SPEND MUCH
ADDITIONAL TIME ON IT HERE. CDFNT PROGGD TO MOVE THRU CWA ON MON...
WITH HOT AND HUMID INVOF IT. FNT THEN STALLS TO OUR S...WITH
SHRA/TSRA PSBL REMAINDER OF EXTENDED PD. TEMPS LOOK GOOD AS WELL.

.DVN...
IA...NONE.
IL...NONE.
MO...NONE.

JAZ

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 141 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:04 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flood, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Buchanan

When: July 21, 2:52 AM CST
Where: Buchanan County, Independence
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.471, -91.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several streets flooded. Reported by law enforcement.

Flood, Buchanan

When: July 21, 2:52 AM CST
Where: Buchanan County, Jesup
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.471, -91.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several streets flooded. Reported by law enforcement.

Thunderstorm Wind, Linn

When: July 21, 4:05 AM CST
Where: Linn County, Central City
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.200, -91.533

Corn field flattened. Reported by National Weather Service cooperative observer.

Thunderstorm Wind, Linn

When: July 21, 4:08 AM CST
Where: Linn County, Springville
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.067, -91.450

Power lines and wires down. Reported by law enforcement.

Flood, Scott

When: July 21, 5:30 AM CST
Where: Scott County, Davenport
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several streets flooded. Reported by law enforcement.

Thunderstorm Wind, Scott

When: July 21, 5:30 AM CST
Where: Scott County, Davenport
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 41.533, -90.583

Wind knocked over the starting tower at The Quad City Times Bix 7 Road Race. Reported by media.

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.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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, July 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: 5261703, 5261704, 5261705, 5260710, 5260711, 5260712.