Heavy rains across southwest Iowa on May 9, 2008, caused minor flooding on the Tarkio River.
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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 EAX wrote it up.
Heavy rains across southwest Iowa on May 9, 2008, caused minor flooding on the Tarkio River.
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 Kansas City, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 9, 2:09 PM CST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 309 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 2008 .SHORT TERM... MAIN FOCUS FOR DISCUSSION WILL BE THE NEXT IN THE SERIES OF SHORTWAVE TROUGH TO AMPLIFY OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS THIS WEEKEND. EXITING SHORTWAVE OVER IL HAS SHIFTED THE LOW LEVEL BAROCLINIC ZONE INTO NRN TX WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 50S TO LOWER 60S ACR NRN TX. SECONDARY SURGE OF COOLER AND DRIER AIR WAS ALSO WORKING ITS WAY SOUTH INTO SRN MO. WITH THE BAROCLINIC ZONE DISPLACED WELL TO OUR SOUTH...A STRONG H3 SPEED MAX ENTERING THE SRN PLAINS WILL AID IN THE GENERATION OF A SFC LOW IN CENTRAL OKLAHOMA FRIDAY AFTERNOON WITH A WARM FRONT DRIFTING NORTH INTO NRN ARK. DUE TO THE SPEEDY ARRIVAL OF THIS SYSTEM...SIGNIFICANT GULF MOISTURE WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO RETURN NWD INTO ERN OKLA AND ARK BY SATURDAY AFTN. SFC LOW DEVELOPMENT WILL ALSO OCCUR IN ERN NEBRASKA IN ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPING UPPER TROUGH. THIS WILL LEAVE OUR CWA IN A RATHER WEAK LOW LEVEL SE FLOW...LIMITING AND SIGNIFICANT RISE IN LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. NAM...AS USUAL...LOOKS A LITTLE TOO HIGH WITH SFC DEWPOINTS AND PREFER THE MORE TAME GFS DEWPOINTS IN THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 50S ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70. THEREFORE...INSTABILITY WILL BE RATHER WEAK IN ADVANCE OF A COLD FRONT TO MOVE INTO THE WRN CWA BY LATE AFTN. MODELS DIFFER WITH THE TIMING WITH THE GFS CONSIDERABLY FASTER THAN THE NAM. PREFER A COMPROMISE...IN LINE WITH THE ECMWF AND GEM MODELS. ALTHOUGH MDT TO STG SFC-6KM SHEAR WILL BE IN PLACE...LIMITED INSTABILITY...POOR INSOLATION DUE TO INCREASE MID AND HIGH CLOUDS WILL INHIBIT SVR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE FRONT. THE ONLY EXCEPTION MAY BE OVER THE EXTREME SRN CWA WHERE STG SHEAR AND WEAK SBCAPES AROUND 200-500 J/KG MAY BE SUFFICENT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. AHEAD OF THE FRONT...THE NAM SUGGEST THAT WEAK TO MDT ISENTROPIC LIFT NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT MAY TRIGGER SCT HIGH BASED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BY EARLY AFTN...MAINLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70. AS THE FRONT ENTERS NORTH CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MISSOURI SAT NGT...THE TROUGH WILL CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY WITH QG FORCING INCREASING THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STRONG H3 SPEED MAX OVER KS WILL AID UVV FIELDS IN NORTH CENTRAL MO. WILL DEPICT HIGHEST POPS FOR THE NERN MO SATURDAY NIGHT. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW DEVELOPS OVR SERN IA BY SUNDAY MORNING...ENHANCING THE SFC LOW DEVELOPMENT OVER ERN IA AND IL. STRONG AND GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP SATURDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY WITH MOISTURE WRAPPING AROUND THE UPPER LOW PROVIDING FOR SPRINKLES OR LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS FOR THE NERN GRIDS SUNDAY MORNING. DB MONDAY-FRIDAY... THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WORK WEEK WILL FIND EASTERN KANSAS AND MISSOURI IN BETWEEN STORM SYSTEMS AS THE WEEKEND SHORTWAVE WILL BE WELL TO OUR EAST WHILE ANOTHER SERIES OF WAVES WILL STILL BE DIGGING THEIR WAY INTO THE GREAT BASIN OUT WEST. THE SHORTWAVE RIDGE TRANSITING THE PLAINS BETWEEN THE SYSTEMS WILL MAKE MONDAY AND TUESDAY RATHER NICE...AS SOUTHERLY WINDS PUSH AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES INTO THE 70S. ISSUES BEGIN TO ARISE FOR THE MIDDLE AND LATER HALF OF NEXT WORK WEEK AS THE SHORTWAVES DIGGING INTO THE GREAT BASIN BEGIN TO MOVE OUT INTO THE PLAINS. ECMWF AND GFS ARE HAVING A HARD TIME AGREEING ON A SOLUTION. THE ECMWF IS OFFERING THE FASTER SOLUTION FOR A CHANGE...EVEN THOUGH IT IS FAR MORE AGGRESSIVE IN TRANSFORMING THE SHORTWAVES INTO A LARGE CUTOFF LOW. THE SLOWER SOLUTION OF THE GFS KEEPS THE WAVE MORE OPEN AND BRINGS MORE OF A LARGE TROUGH INTO THE PLAINS WITH SEVERAL SMALLER SHORTWAVES MOVING THROUGH IT. MODEL PREFERENCE IS FOR THE SLOWER GFS SOLUTION...AS THE SPEED WITH WHICH THE ECMWF MOVES THE CLOSED LOW ACROSS THE CONUS SEEMS COMPLETELY UNREALISTIC. DESPITE THE DISAGREEMENT IN THE MODELS...THE PREFERENCE FOR THE GFS HAS NOT HAD MUCH OF AN APPRECIABLE EFFECT ON THE GOING FORECAST. TEMPERATURES FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WILL BE BELOW NORMAL AS COLD AIR SWEEPS IN BEHIND A COLD FRONT DUE TUESDAY/TUESDAY NIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE POSSIBLE AS EARLY AS THE DAYLIGHT HOURS TUESDAY...BUT MAIN FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY REMAINS ON THE OVERNIGHT HOURS OF TUESDAY DUE TO ISSUES WILL MOISTURE RETURN. IF THE GFS IS RIGHT...AND WE HAVE A STRONG SOUTHERN STREAM WAVE IN THE BASE OF THE TROUGH AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE PLAINS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...THEN THE GOING POPS WE HAVE MIGHT BE A BIT HIGH AS THE MAIN FOCUS WILL BE FARTHER SOUTH. STILL HAVE KEPT GOING POPS FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY FOR POST FRONTAL ACTIVITY DUE TO THE MULTIPLE VORT MAXIMA PROJECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE COOL AIRMASS THAT WILL BE SWEEPING THROUGH THE PLAINS. CUTTER && .AVIATION... FOR THE 18Z TAFS...COOLER AND DRIER AIR WILL CONTINUE TO FILTER SOUTHEAST INTO THE TERMINALS THIS AFTN. IFR/MVFR CONDITIONS SHOULD QUICKLY TURN VFR EARLY THIS AFTN. VFR TO CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT WITH A WEAK HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE IN CONTROL. THE NEXT THREAT OF MVFR CONDITIONS AND WEAK CONVECTION WILL OCCUR AFT 18Z ON SATURDAY. DB && .EAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...NONE. KS...NONE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 100 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 2008 KSZ025-057-060-102>105-MOZ001>008-011>017-020>025-028>033-037>040- 043>046-053-054-101100- ATCHISON KS-MIAMI-LINN KS-DONIPHAN-LEAVENWORTH-WYANDOTTE- JOHNSON KS-ATCHISON MO-NODAWAY-WORTH-GENTRY-HARRISON-MERCER- PUTNAM-SCHUYLER-HOLT-ANDREW-DE KALB-DAVIESS-GRUNDY-SULLIVAN-ADAIR- BUCHANAN-CLINTON-CALDWELL-LIVINGSTON-LINN MO-MACON-PLATTE-CLAY- RAY-CARROLL-CHARITON-RANDOLPH-JACKSON-LAFAYETTE-SALINE-HOWARD- CASS-JOHNSON MO-PETTIS-COOPER-BATES-HENRY- 100 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST...NORTH CENTRAL AND WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI...AS WELL AS EXTREME EASTERN KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THUNDERSTORMS MAY MOVE INTO EASTERN KANSAS AND WESTERN MISSOURI BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON...AND MOVE EAST ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF MISSOURI SATURDAY NIGHT. A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME STRONG AT TIMES AS THE STORM SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS THE REGION...HOWEVER SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. THERE IS CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. THIS APPEARS TO BE A MORE POTENT STORM SYSTEM...AND WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH THE WEEKEND. DB
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Tarkio River near Fairfax crested at 17.50 feet, or 0.50 feet above flood stage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, May 2008
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: 100024.