Flooding from rain and snowmelt in March continued into April. Flooding was the most extensive over the north half of Iowa, particularly along the Des Moines River Basin.
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.
Flooding from rain and snowmelt in March continued into April. Flooding was the most extensive over the north half of Iowa, particularly along the Des Moines River Basin. Much of the flooding was in agricultural areas and did not have major impacts. Some areas were affected with roads closed yet into April. The rivers had crested during March, so overall flooding was minor to moderate.
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 Mar 31, 11:07 PM CST, 53 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 1207 AM CDT THU APR 1 2010 .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT/... QUIET FORECAST FOR TONIGHT AS FRONTAL BOUNDARY HAS BECOME STALLED ACROSS OUR AREA...STRETCHING FROM ROUGHLY WATERLOO TO CRESTON AT THIS TIME...AND WILL BECOME MORE OF AN INVERTED TROUGH OVERNIGHT EXTENDING FROM THE DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN PLAINS. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT AND VARIABLE TO CALM AT TIMES THIS EVENING NEAR THE BOUNDARY...THEN TURN TO EASTERLY IN OUR NORTHERN COUNTIES AND SOUTHERLY ELSEWHERE BY SUNRISE THURSDAY. IN ADDITION...HIGH CIRRUS CLOUDS ARE STREAMING IN FROM THE WEST AS EVIDENCED BY SATELLITE IMAGERY. BETWEEN THE HIGH CLOUDS AND THE RELATIVELY ORGANIZED WIND FIELD LATER TONIGHT AM HESITANT TO LOWER TEMPERATURES TOO MUCH AS RADIATIONAL COOLING WILL BE INHIBITED...HOWEVER WITH A PERIOD OF CALMER WINDS DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE NIGHT AND LOWER DEWPOINTS SNEAKING INTO THE NORTHWEST BEHIND THE FRONT WILL KEEP FORECAST LOWS UNDER MOS ACROSS THE NORTHWEST AND IN THE NISH VALLEY...AND HAVE MADE LITTLE CHANGE TO THE TEMPS I INHERITED. ONLY OTHER WRINKLE IN THE FORECAST IS A SIGNAL IN THE MODEL SUITE FOR A BAND OF 850 MB WARM ADVECTION MOVING ACROSS THE AREA OVERNIGHT...HOWEVER MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW ONLY A VERY SHALLOW AND BRIEF SATURATION LAYER WITH THIS FEATURE AS THERE IS TREMENDOUS DRY AIR IN PLACE OVER MOST OF THE COLUMN. THUS OTHER THAN PERHAPS A SPELL OF SOME WARM ADVECTION CLOUDS...DO NOT EXPECT MUCH SENSIBLE EFFECT. .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... TYPICAL OF EARLY SPRING...THE WEATHER PATTERN WILL BE ACTIVE...THROWING A VARIETY OF FORECAST CHALLENGES OUR WAY THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. FIRST OF ALL...THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT SAGGED INTO OUR AREA TODAY WILL BE ADVANCING BACK NORTH THURSDAY...AND AS LOW PRESSURE ALONG THE FRONT OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS DEEPENS...THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL TIGHTEN AGAIN...PROVIDING A GUSTY...WARM SOUTHERLY FLOW OVER CENTRAL IOWA. AM EXPECTING TEMPS TO BE TIED CLOSELY TO THE ADIABATIC MIXING DEPTH...WHICH YIELDS TEMPS WARMER AND DEWPOINTS DRIER THAN GUIDANCE. HIGHS WILL LIKELY BE IN THE LOWER TO MID 80S SOUTH OF HWY 30. WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITY DIPPING INTO THE LOWER TO MID 30S THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THE GUSTY SOUTH WINDS...IT WILL NOT BE A GOOD DAY TO BE BURNING OUTSIDE. WITH A DEEP UPPER LEVEL TROUGH APPROACHING LATE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...THE BAROCLINIC ZONE BECOMES PARALLEL TO THE STEERING FLOW...AND MOISTURE OFF THE WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO RACES NORTH ON 850 MB WINDS OF CLOSE TO 70 KTS. IT APPEARS THAT THE BULK OF PRECIPITATION FRIDAY INTO EARLY SATURDAY WILL FALL IN AN ANABATIC REGIME...OR BEHIND THE SURFACE FRONT. MODELS HAVE CONSEQUENTLY MINIMIZED ANY SURFACE-BASED INSTABILITY..AND ANY ELEVATED INSTABILITY IS PRETTY PALTRY. EXPECT THUNDER CHANCES TO BE AROUND...MAINLY DUE TO NEGATIVE THETE-E LAPSE RATES...AND THERE IS A SMALL WINDOW FOR THUNDERSTORMS TO BE SURFACE BASED OVER SOUTHEAST ZONES FRIDAY EVENING. AT THIS POINT...WE ARE NOT EXPECTING MUCH IN THE WAY OF A SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. THE GREATER THREAT APPEARS TO BE THAT OF HEAVY RAINFALL. WITH A SLOW MOVING FRONTAL BOUNDARY...SLOPING AND MODERATE TO STRONG FRONTOGENETICAL ZONE UNDER THE ENTRANCE REGION TO A STRONG UPPER LEVEL JET /ALSO PARALLEL TO BAROCLINIC ZONE/...STRONG UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE...EVENTUAL NEGATIVE TILT TO UPPER LEVEL TROUGH...AND PRECIP WATER VALUES OVER 1.25 INCHES...THE STAGE SEEMS PRIMED FOR A LOT OF RAIN. RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF 2 INCHES OVER 12 HOURS IS POSSIBLE SOMEWHERE OVER CENTRAL IOWA. BEYOND POTENTIAL FOR GENERAL FLOODING /SOIL MOISTURE IS STILL MUCH ABOVE NORMAL/...THE RIVER FORECAST CENTER MODELS INDICATE THAT THIS AMOUNT OF RAINFALL COULD BRING A FEW OF THE RIVERS BACK TO OR JUST OVER FLOOD STAGE BY LATER IN THE WEEKEND. WILL ISSUE A HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK /DSMESFDMX/ TO ADDRESS THE CONCERN. RAINFALL WILL DECREASE WEST TO EAST SATURDAY AS LOW PRESSURE PULLS AWAY AND UPPER LEVEL TROUGH PASSES. COLD ADVECTION WILL BE ONGOING SATURDAY IN BRISK WESTERLY FLOW...SO EXPECT TEMPS TO STRUGGLE TO RISE THROUGH THE 50S. THERE IS A SMALL...BUT MODERATELY STRONG SHORTWAVE PROGGED TO MOVE ACROSS NRN IA SATURDAY NIGHT...AND THIS MAY YIELD SOME ADDITIONAL RAINFALL. FOR NOW...AM NOT GOING TO CARRY ANY MENTIONABLE POP FOR THIS FEATURE DUE TO TIMING/PLACEMENT CONCERNS. THERE CONTINUES TO BE A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY GOING INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...AND THE TRENDING OF THE 12Z GFS TO THE PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT-TO-BE-MORE-CONSISTENT-00Z ECMWF HAS BEEN BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER BY THE NOW VERY DIFFERENT 12Z ECMWF. WHILE CERTAINTY OF DEALING WITH A FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT SYSTEM SOMETIME EARLY NEXT WEEK IS HIGH...THE TIMING OF RAIN/TSTMS SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY IS VERY LOW CONFIDENCE AT THIS POINT. THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WX APPEARS TO EXIST AT THIS TIME...BUT SO MUCH CAN CHANGE BETWEEN NOW AND THEN. POPS WERE A BLEND OF HPC AND 00Z ECMWF SOLUTIONS AND TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY BE ABOVE NORMAL...BUT NOT NEARLY TO THE EXTENT EXPERIENCED THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS. && .AVIATION... 01/06Z...VFR CONDS THRUT THE FCST PD. BKN CI WILL GIVE WAY TO SCT ON THU. WINDS WIL REMAIN LIGHT TNGT WITH BNDRY BISECTING THE STATE NE-SW TNGT. WINDS WILL BCMG E-SELY BY SNRS ACRS THE STATE...THEN SLY BY MID TO LATE MRNG AND INC TO 15 TO 25 KTS AND GUSTY. GUSTY WINDS WILL LIKELY HOLD WELL INTO THE EVE THU EVE WITH STRONG GRAD AHEAD OF DVLPG LOW TO THE WEST. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. SHORT TERM...MS APR 10 LONG TERM...MOYER AVIATION...MS APR 10
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 704 PM CDT WED MAR 31 2010 IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086- 092>097-011100- EMMET-KOSSUTH-WINNEBAGO-WORTH-PALO ALTO-HANCOCK-CERRO GORDO- POCAHONTAS-HUMBOLDT-WRIGHT-FRANKLIN-BUTLER-BREMER-SAC-CALHOUN- WEBSTER-HAMILTON-HARDIN-GRUNDY-BLACK HAWK-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GREENE- BOONE-STORY-MARSHALL-TAMA-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-POLK-JASPER- POWESHIEK-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-WARREN-MARION-MAHASKA-ADAMS-UNION- CLARKE-LUCAS-MONROE-WAPELLO-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD-DECATUR-WAYNE-APPANOOSE- DAVIS- 704 PM CDT WED MAR 31 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS FOR MINOR TO MODERATE FLOODING REMAIN IN EFFECT THROUGHOUT PORTIONS OF THE DES MOINES RIVER BASIN. PLEASE SEE OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/DESMOINES FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY FIRE DANGER WILL CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY DUE TO THE BREEZY CONDITIONS...LOW DEW POINTS...WARM TEMPERATURES COMBINING TO PRODUCE LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY NIGHT ACROSS THE AREA.. AN ISOLATED SEVERE STORM AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. ISOLATED NON-SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE SOUTH OF U.S. HIGHWAY 30 SUNDAY NIGHT. THERE WILL BE A BETTER CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE TUESDAY. RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF THE DES MOINES RIVER BASIN. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, April 2010
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: 219705, 219706, 219707, 219709, 219710, 219711.