Rain was the big weather story of the month. The month began with drought concerns over much of western and southern Iowa.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS DMX wrote it up.
Rain was the big weather story of the month. The month began with drought concerns over much of western and southern Iowa. However, Hawarden and Sioux Center both received rain on the afternoon of August 1st, ending a streak of 39 consecutive days without measurable (0.01 inch more) rain at both locations. Rain fell somewhere in the state on every day of the month except the 26th, 30th and 31st. Overnight rain totals in excess of four inches fell on the 7th-8th (4.90 inches at Hamburg); 8th-9th (4.04 inches at Oskaloosa); 17th-18th (7.03 inches at Emmetsburg); 18th-19th (4.24 inches at Calmar); 19th-20th (6.08 inches at Independence); 21st-22nd (4.62 inches at Humboldt). It wasn't until the heavy rainfall beginning on the 18th occurred that flooding began to be a problem. With the dry conditions across the north and west, the soil was able to absorb the initial heavy rainfall. Much of the flooding was limited to agricultural lands. There was some flooding in town and some road closures, but this type of flooding was not all that widespread.
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 Aug 19, 10:50 PM CST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED FOR TAFS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 1150 PM CDT SUN AUG 19 2007 .SYNOPSIS... NEARLY STATIONARY FRONT WOBBLING NORTH ACROSS THE STATE LATE THIS AFTERNOON WITH TROPICAL MOISTURE FEED WELL IN PLACE ONCE AGAIN. THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP NORTH OF BOUNDARY ACROSS SOUTHERN MN AND ARE HEADING EAST ALONG H850 FRONTAL ZONE. OVER SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA...CONTINUE TO SEE INFLUX OF OLD ERIN MOISTURE WITH AREAS OF THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING. MAINTAINING FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT ACROSS THE NORTH WHERE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL EXPECTED. SOUTHERN PORTIONS CAN TAKE A FEW INCHES WITH LESS IMPACT EXPECTED THERE. .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT... DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE PLUME CONTINUES TO STREAM NORTH INTO THE STATE TNT. THOUGH THE GREATEST LIFT INITIALLY APPEARS TO BE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE IA-MN BORDER...RUC MODEL HAS COME AROUND TO SHOW INCREASING LIFT WITH STRONGER AND MORE NORTHERLY MOISTURE TRANSPORT OVER THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING AND GRADUALLY SHIFTING THE GREATER MOISTURE TRANSPORT MORE EAST NORTHEAST BY 03Z LATER THIS EVENING. H700 WAVE OVER THE DAKOTAS SHOULD HELP KEEP PATTERN PROGRESSIVE OVER THE NORTH THOUGH SOME STORMS EXPECTED TO FIRE INTO THE WARM SECTOR THIS EVENING ALONG THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY AS IT DRIFTS SOUTHEAST WITH TIME. THIS MAY MITIGATE SOME HYDRO ISSUES OVER THE NORTH BUT WILL HOLD ONTO FLASH FLOOD WATCH DUE TO FACT THAT LITTLE IF ANY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL TNT WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS. OLD ERIN STILL A PROBLEM...AS MOISTURE TRANSPORT AND PLUME WILL CROSS THE SOUTHEAST THIRD OF FORECAST AREA THROUGH 06Z...WITH SOME HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE THERE. GFS/NAM MUCH FARTHER EAST WITH TRACK THIS EVENING...AND AM FOLLOWING RUC MORE CLOSELY. FFG RUNNING HIGHER SOUTHEAST COUNTIES WITH VALUES GENERALLY IN THE 2.5 TO 3.5 RAINFALL SO WILL NOT EXTEND WATCH ANY FARTHER SOUTH ATTM THOUGH SOME TOTALS MAY COME IN ABOVE TWO INCHES IN SOME CASES. H700 WAVE NORTH WILL LIFT EAST AFTER 06Z AND RAINFALL SHOULD DIMINISH AT THAT TIME. ACROSS THE SOUTH EXPECT THE RAIN TO DIMINISH BETWEEN THE 04 AND 08Z TIMEFRAME AS OLD ERIN SPINS EAST BY MORNING. FOLLOWING THAT...FOG MAY BECOME AN ISSUE IN THE WAKE OF THE THESE SYSTEMS AS WINDS REMAIN LIGHT BY MORNING. WITH GO WITH AREAS OF FOG FOR NOW. .LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN TO CONTINUE FOR THE WORK WEEK AS THE SURFACE BOUNDARY IS NEVER FORECAST TO LEAVE IOWA UNTIL FRIDAY NIGHT. SEVERAL ROUNDS OF CONVECTIVE WEATHER ARE LIKELY TO OCCUR...WITH HIGHEST PROBABILITIES OVER NORTHERN IOWA WHERE SOME HEAVY RAINS HAVE ALREADY FALLEN...MAKING LOCAL FLOODING THE BIGGEST THREAT FOR THE WEEK. WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL PROVIDE ENOUGH SHEAR AT TIMES FOR ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER. CONDITIONS SOUTH OF THE FRONT WILL REMAIN TROPICAL WITH HIGHS CLOSE TO 90 AND DEWPOINTS WELL INTO THE 70S. TEMPERATURES A BIT MORE PROBLEMATIC NORTH SINCE THERE IS A SLIM POSSIBILITY THAT COOLER AND DRIER AIR COULD SLIP IN FOR A SHORT SPELL. SPECIFICALLY...AFTER TONIGHT HEAVY RAIN CHANCES APPEAR TO BE MOST LIKELY WITH CONVECTIVE COMPLEXES THAT ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP MONDAY EVENING AND MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN IOWA...WITH REPEAT ACTION POSSIBLE ACROSS THE SAME AREA TUESDAY NIGHT. RETURN FLOW OF COPIOUS MOISTURE AND THETA-E ADVECTION IS RAPID ACROSS THIS AREA AS A SERIES OF SHORT WAVES COMES OUT IN THE WLY FLOW ALOFT. DIFFICULT TO SEE ENOUGH OF A BREAK IN THIS PATTERN THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...SO CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN IN THE FORECAST THROUGH FRIDAY. LONGER RANGE MODELS AGREE THAT A RIDGE WILL BUILD SOMEWHAT TO THE WEST PUSHING A SURFACE HIGH INTO IOWA AND THE UPPER MIDWEST FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...WHICH SHOULD END THE PERSISTENT RAIN CHANCES AND DROP TEMPERATURES AND DEWPOINTS BACK TO COMFORTABLE LEVELS. ALL OF THESE RAIN CHANCES LEAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOOD WATCHES AND POSSIBLE RIVER FLOODING EVENTUALLY FOR THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE STATE. CEDAR RIVER IS NOW EXPECTED TO REACH BANK FULL...AND COULD GO HIGHER IF RAINS TARGET THE SAME AREAS FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS IN A ROW. .AVIATION...20/06Z STATIONARY BOUNDARY MEANDERS THROUGH THE STATE. STORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL LEAVING VERY MOIST AIRMASS WITH FOG LIKELY. FREQUENT IFR CONDITIONS NORTHERN HALF OF IOWA THROUGH MORNING. MVFR CLOUDS AROUND 3000 FEET TODAY. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH 4 AM MONDAY IAZ004>007-IA015>017-IA023>028-IA035>039-IA049>050- && SHORT TERM...REV LONG TERM...JUNGBLUTH AVIATION...FORSTER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 1115 PM CDT SUN AUG 19 2007 IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-035>039-047>050-201100- EMMET-KOSSUTH-WINNEBAGO-WORTH-PALO ALTO-HANCOCK-CERRO GORDO- POCAHONTAS-HUMBOLDT-WRIGHT-FRANKLIN-BUTLER-BREMER-WEBSTER- HAMILTON-HARDIN-GRUNDY-BLACK HAWK-BOONE-STORY-MARSHALL-TAMA- 1115 PM CDT SUN AUG 19 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NUMEROUS THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. THESE STORMS WILL CONTAIN HEAVY RAINFALL WITH THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE 1 TO 2 INCHES WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA. PLEASE REFER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/DESMOINES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY FROM MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...SEVERE WEATHER AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ARE POSSIBLE. TIMING AND SPECIFIC THREAT WILL BE DEFINED IN LATER FORECASTS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER REPORTS OF HEAVY RAINFALL WOULD BE HELPFUL. IAZ033-034-044>046-057>062-070>075-081>086-092>097-201100- SAC-CALHOUN-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GREENE-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-POLK- JASPER-POWESHIEK-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-WARREN-MARION-MAHASKA-ADAMS- UNION-CLARKE-LUCAS-MONROE-WAPELLO-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD-DECATUR-WAYNE- APPANOOSE-DAVIS- 1115 PM CDT SUN AUG 19 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT MAINLY NON SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME MORE NUMEROUS THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL RANGING FROM ONE TO THREE INCHES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY FROM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...SEVERE WEATHER AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ARE POSSIBLE. TIMING AND SPECIFIC THREAT WILL BE DEFINED IN LATER FORECASTS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT NECESSARY AT THIS TIME.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
907 PM CDT SUN AUG 19 2007
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0900 PM HEAVY RAIN PILOT MOUND 42.16N 94.02W
08/19/2007 M3.00 INCH BOONE IA TRAINED SPOTTER
MEASURED IN 1 HOUR.
&&
MRUSSELLPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
914 PM CDT SUN AUG 19 2007
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0908 PM HEAVY RAIN N PILOT MOUND 42.17N 94.02W
08/19/2007 M3.75 INCH BOONE IA TRAINED SPOTTER
NWS TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTS 3.75 INCHES IN 1.5 HOURS.
&&
CCOGILPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1109 PM CDT SUN AUG 19 2007
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0542 PM FLASH FLOOD DUNKERTON 42.57N 92.16W
08/19/2007 BLACK HAWK IA LAW ENFORCEMENT
BRIDGE WASHED OUT IN THE 7700 BLOCK OF EAST BIG ROCK ROAD
NEAR DUNKERTON. TIME IS TIME OF REPORT.
&&
RKPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1110 PM CDT SUN AUG 19 2007
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0540 PM FLASH FLOOD DUNKERTON 42.57N 92.16W
08/19/2007 BLACK HAWK IA LAW ENFORCEMENT
ROAD WASHED OUT IN THE 3400 BLCOK OF NORTH PILOT GROVE
NEAR DUNKERTON. TIME IS TIME OF REPORT.
&&
RKPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1116 PM CDT SUN AUG 19 2007
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1035 PM FLASH FLOOD PILOT MOUND 42.16N 94.02W
08/19/2007 BOONE IA LAW ENFORCEMENT
SEVERAL GRAVEL AND HARD TOP ROADS CLOSED OVER NORTHERN
BOONE COUNTY...MAINLY NORTHWEST OF BOONE.
&&
BFPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1224 AM CDT MON AUG 20 2007
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1150 PM FLASH FLOOD MOORLAND 42.44N 94.29W
08/19/2007 WEBSTER IA LAW ENFORCEMENT
WATER OVER THE ROAD ON HIGHWAY C66 BETWEEN HIGHWAY 169
AND CLARE. EMERGENCY PERSONNEL HAVING TROUBLE GETTING
AROUND FORT DODGE DUE TO FLOODED ROADS.
&&
BFThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, August 2007
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: 49789, 49792, 49795, 49791, 49790, 49796, 49793, 49794, 49797.