Flooding in Iowa, May 1 to 30, 2001

Name: Flooding in Iowa, May 1 to 30, 2001
Start: 2001-05-01T01:00
End: 2001-05-30T06:15
Location: Iowa

May 1 to 30, 2001 · NWS DVN · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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: 8

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.

Widespread major to near record flooding continued on the Mississippi River into May. The month began with continued major flooding along the Mississippi River generally from Burlington northward, and moderate flooding south of Burlington. Continued rain, heavy at times, kept the river above flood stage for most of May. In fact heavy rains helped lead to a second crest on the Mississippi River. This second crest was higher than the first crest, from Keithsburg southward. Persistent heavy rains, especially over Southeast Iowa, Northeast Missouri and West Central Illinois, led to flooding on Mississippi River tributaries, which in turn led to a third crest on the Mississippi River, along with prolonged flooding. The third crest was higher than the second crest, from Burlington southward. Once the Mississippi River began falling, it fell rapidly at times. During the falling limb, Mississippi River stage changes over 24 hour periods were as much as around 1 foot or more. Listed are the crests for the month of May for points along the Mississippi River: Dubuque Lock and Dam 11, 22.14 feet on the 6th; Dubuque 23.81 feet on the 6th; Bellevue Lock and Dam 12, 21.36 feet on the 6th; Fulton Lock and Dam 13, 22.07 feet on the 7th; Camanche 22.58 feet on the 8th; Le Claire Lock and Dam 14, 15.96 feet on the 8th; Quad Cities Lock and Dam 15, 21.31 feet on the 8th; Illinois City Lock and Dam 16, 21.49 feet on the 11th; Muscatine 22.75 feet on the 11th; New Boston Lock and Dam 17, 22.33 feet on the 12th; Keithsburg 20.72 feet on the 12th; Gladstone Lock and Dam 18, 17.65 feet on 13th and 17.5 feet on the 14th; Burlington 21.71 feet on the 13th and 21.82 feet on the 15th; Keokuk Lock and Dam 19, 21.69 feet on the 12th and 22.94 feet on the 15th; Gregory Landing, 22.81 feet on the 12th. President Bush declared 10 counties in Iowa as federal disaster areas due to the flooding; Allamakee, Clayton, Clinton, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jackson, Lee, Louisa, Muscatine and Scott. Governor George Ryan declared disaster areas in 10 counties, including Carroll, Jo Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, Mercer, Rock Island and Whiteside. Damage estimates were well into the millions of dollars, with several thousand labor hours involved in flood fighting efforts. The city of Dubuque's flood costs alone were nearly a half million dollars.

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 Apr 30, 1:30 PM CST, 11 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 1:30 PM CST, 11 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
230 PM CDT MON APR 30 2001

18Z SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT EXTENDING FROM
MINNESOTA INTO NEBRASKA. SLOW MOVEMENT DUE TO FRONT LYING
NEARLY PARALLEL TO UPPER FLOW. SHORTWAVE TROUGH SEEN ON SATELLITE
OVER THE PLAINS. DIVERGENCE ASSOCIATED WITH RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION
OF UPPER JET IN COMBINATION WITH APPROACHING SHORTWAVE TROUGH AIDING
DEVELOPMENT OF SHOWERS MOVING INTO WESTERN ZONES.

MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS ARE WITH PCPN CHANCES AND TEMPS.

.SHORT TERM (TONIGHT/TUESDAY MORNING).
RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF UPPER JET AND ASSOCIATED DIVERGENCE TO
LIFT NORTHEAST OVERNIGHT...TAKING WITH IT BULK OF PCPN. SOUTHERN END
OF FRONT WASHES OUT BEFORE GETTING HERE...WHILE NORTHERN END
MAINTAINS SOME DEFINITION WHILE HEADING INTO GREAT LAKES ON TUESDAY
WITH UPPER ENERGY/FORCING. HIGHEST POPS TONIGHT WILL BE PLACED IN
NORTH AND WESTERN ZONES. LEANING TOWARD WARMER MAV GUIDANCE FOR MINS.

.(TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY).
POTENTIAL FOR MCS TO AFFECT PORTIONS OF REGION. UPPER SYSTEM
CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH PACIFIC NORTHWEST WILL SHIFT EAST ACROSS THE
NORTHERN PLAINS. FRONT OVER PLAINS EXPECTED TO SHIFT EAST INTO
AREA LATE TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. WILL KEEP CHANCE POPS IN WEST
DURING AFTERNOON AHEAD OF FRONT. TUESDAY NIGHT/WEDNESDAY MORNING
SHAPING UP TO BE WET FOR PORTIONS OF THE REGION. EXPECTED SOME
CONVECTION ALONG FRONT...WITH POSSIBLE MCS DEVELOPING FURTHER WEST
AS LOW LEVEL JET/THETA-E ADVECTION FOCUS ON EASTERN NEBRASKA...
WESTERN IOWA AND NORTHWEST MISSOURI. CORFIDI VECTORS AND PROGGED
THICKNESSES SUPPORT S/SE TRANSLATION...MAY AFFECT SOUTHERN PORTIONS
OF CWA. INSTABILITY ENOUGH TO SUPPORT POTENTIAL FOR SOME SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG FRONT DURING AFTERNOON/EVENING...WITH WIND AND
HAIL MAIN THREAT. TEMPS BLEND OF FWC/MAV. BEST COMPRESSIONAL HEATING
OUT WEST WITH FRONT INTO CENTRAL IOWA BY 00Z. INCREASE IN MOISTURE
AND WINDY CONDITIONS TO LIMIT MAXIMUM HEATING. FRONT STALLS OVER
REGION ON WEDNESDAY WITH MAIN ENERGY LIFTING WELL NORTH AND UPPER
FLOW NEARLY PARALLEL. WITH BOUNDARY AROUND WILL CONTINUE WITH PCPN
CHANCES.

.EXTENDED (THU-MON).
FRONT SAGS SOUTH OF REGION BY FRIDAY AS COOL CANADIAN HIGH BUILDS IN.
POTENTIAL FOR BIG BUST ON TEMPS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH LAKE
ENHANCED COOLING ON LOW LEVEL NORTHEAST FLOW. TEMP SPREADS COULD BE
AROUND 20 DEGS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH ON THURDAY. AVN/MRF/UKMET DEPICT
POST FRONTAL PCPN LINGERING THURSDAY AND FRIDAY ALONG H85 BAROCLINIC
ZONE...MAINLY NORTH. POTENTIAL THAT SOME AREAS MAY NOT GET OUT OF THE
50S FOR HIGHS ON FRIDAY DUE TO CLOUDS/RAIN. WEEKEND WEATHER
WILL BE DOMINATED BY LARGE CANADIAN HIGH CENTERED OVER GREAT LAKES.
RESULT IN PLEASANT/NEAR SEASONAL TEMPS. SOUTHERLY FLOW RETURNS LATE
IN THE WEEKEND WITH DEVELOPING WARM FRONT. THIS WILL RESULT IN
GRADUAL WARMING TREND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH CHAN-CE OF PCPN LATE
SUNDAY AND MONDAY AHEAD OF NEXT TROUGH.

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

MCCLURE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Clinton

When: May 1, 1:00 AM CST to May 21, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Clinton forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.898, -90.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Des Moines

When: May 1, 1:00 AM CST to May 30, 6:15 AM CST
Where: Des Moines forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Dubuque

When: May 1, 1:00 AM CST to May 19, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Dubuque forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.469, -90.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Jackson

When: May 1, 1:00 AM CST to May 20, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.172, -90.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Lee

When: May 1, 1:00 AM CST to May 24, 2:30 AM CST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.642, -91.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Louisa

When: May 1, 1:00 AM CST to May 26, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Louisa forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Muscatine

When: May 1, 1:00 AM CST to May 24, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Muscatine forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Scott

When: May 1, 1:00 AM CST to May 23, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Scott forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.637, -90.623 (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, May 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: 5249638, 5249639, 5249640, 5249641, 5249642, 5249643, 5249644, 5249714.