Flooding in Iowa, April 21 to 30, 2002

Name: Flooding in Iowa, April 21 to 30, 2002
Start: 2002-04-21T18:27
End: 2002-04-30T23:59
Location: Iowa

April 21 to 30, 2002 · NWS DVN · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: 7

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.

Snowmelt resulted in minor to moderate flooding on the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River reached flood stage at most locations around the 23rd to the 26th, with the earlier dates occurring toward the north. Locally heavy rains, which fell in conjunction with the crest, led to higher crests than those from the snowmelt. The Mississippi River remained above flood stage at some points south of the Quad Cities through the end of the month.

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 21, 1:05 PM CST, 5 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 21, 1:05 PM CST, 5 hours 22 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
205 PM CDT SUN APR 21 2002

SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER NORTHERN PLAINS EXPECTED TO SHIFT EASTWARD THROUGH
THE GREAT LAKES ON MON. LATEST SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS SFC LOW NEAR KSTL
WITH STATIONARY FRONT DRAPED ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY...WHILE COLD
FRONT EXTENDS SOUTH INTO NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. INVERTED TROUGH EXTENDS
BACK FROM SFC LOW ACROSS EASTERN IOWA. WIND FIELD SUPPORTS
WEAK SFC LOW IN VICINITY OF IOWA CITY AT 18Z WITH 3 HR PRESSURE FALL
MAX SOUTHERN WI AND NORTHERN IL SUPPORTING THE BLOSSOMING CONVECTIVE ELEMENTS
SEEN ON KDVN WSR-88D PUSHING EAST OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER. PCPN ALSO BEING
AIDED BY WELL DEFINED VORT MAX LIFTING THROUGH NORTHEAST IA AND
ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE. COUPLED 140 KT JETS ALSO AIDING LIFT FURTHER NORTH
ACROSS MN AND CENTRAL WI WHERE HEAVIER PCPN OCCURRING...IN FORM
OF SNOW/SLEET. COUPLE OF REPORTS INTO OFFICE OF SLEET EARLIER IN
NORTHERN JO DAVIESS COUNTY...AND NORTHERN BUCHANAN COUNTY. RUC SHOWS H85
TEMPS HAVE COOLED TO BETWEEN -1C AND -2C ACROSS THE NORTH SUPPORTIVE
OF SOME WINTERY MIX. META FORECAST SOUNDINGS FOR DBQ INDICATE
ISOTHERMAL LAYER FROM H75-H85 THROUGH 00Z...AGAIN SUPPORTING MIXTURE BEFORE
NEARLY ENTIRE COLUMN COOLS BELOW FREEZING BETWEEN 03Z-06Z EXCEPT
AT SURFACE...BUT BY THAT TIME PCPN SHUT DOWN. WILL GO WITH MIXTURE EARLY
THIS EVE NORTH. ELSEHWERE...LITTLE FORCING NOTED 00Z.
HOWEVER...LINGERING LLVL MOISTURE AND CYCLONIC FLOW SUGGEST PATCHY
DZ WITH AREAS OF FOG. SFC RIDGE BUILDS IN TOMORROW AFTN/NIGHT. MOISTURE
TRAPPED BENEATH SUBSIDENCE INVERSION MAY PROLONG CLOUD COVER INTO
AFTN...WITH PARTIAL CLEARING ESPECIALLY WESTERN ZONES. THIS WILL HAVE
BIG IMPACT ON TEMPS...MAKING TEMP FORECAST TRICKY. AREAS THAT STAY CLOUDY
FOR MOST OF DAY WILL STRUGGLE THROUGH THE 40S. HOWEVER...ANY LATE
APRIL SOLAR INSOLATION AND TEMPS COULD QUICKLY SHOOT UP INTO THE
50S. BELIEVE WESTERN ZONES HAVE BEST POTENTIAL AT SEEING MOST SUNSHINE
IN AFTN...SO WILL SIDE TOWARD WARMER GUIDANCE THERE AND GO WITH
COOLER GUIDANCE EASTERN CUTS. NEXT CHC OF PCPN TUE NIGHT/WED WITH NEXT
COLD FRONT. 12Z UKMET TRENDING SLOWER...MORE INLINE WITH ETA AND
ECMWF. WITH WEAK UPPER RIDGING OVERHEAD...WILL SIDE WITH SLOWER SOLUTION
...THUS WILL BE ADDING MENTION OF THUNDER ON WED. ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN
TO PERSIST THROUGH THE EXTENDED. SOME DIFFERENCES AMONG
MODELS...ESPECIALLY WITH TIMING AND STRENGTH OF SYSTEM SAT. ECMWF
SLOWER/STRONGER HENCE MUCH WARMER WITH SOME POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE
WX/HEAVY RAIN WITH TIMING OF FRONTAL PASSAGE IN AFTERNOON/EVENING.
LATEST 12Z UKMET ALSO TRENDING SLOWER AND WITH WEST/SOUTHWEST UPPER FLOW
TEND TO AGREE.

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

05

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Dubuque

When: April 21, 6:27 PM CST to April 30, 11:59 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, Clinton

When: April 21, 6:27 PM CST to April 30, 11:59 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: April 21, 6:27 PM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM 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, Jackson

When: April 21, 6:27 PM CST to April 30, 11:59 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, Louisa

When: April 21, 6:27 PM CST to April 30, 11:59 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: April 21, 6:27 PM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM 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: April 21, 6:27 PM CST to April 30, 11:59 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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, April 2002

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: 5292283, 5292284, 5292285, 5292286, 5292287, 5292288, 5292289.