Iowa, 2010

Flooding and Lightning Strike in Iowa, July 22 to 23, 2010

July 22 to 23, 2010 · NWS ARX · 8 events in 2 counties and zones

Several rounds of thunderstorms developed along a slow moving cold front. These thunderstorms stretched across much of southern Wisconsin into north central and central Iowa.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
$7,000
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 ARX wrote it up.

Several rounds of thunderstorms developed along a slow moving cold front. These thunderstorms stretched across much of southern Wisconsin into north central and central Iowa. The thunderstorms tracked repeatedly over the same areas dropping several inches of rain across Fayette and Clayton counties which resulted in flooding problems on July 22nd into the 23rd.

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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 22, 1:42 AM CST, 4 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 22, 1:42 AM CST, 4 hours 18 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 22, 5:05 AM CST, 55 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 22, 5:30 AM CST, 30 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 130 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 flood, 2 heavy rain, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Clayton

When
July 22, 6:00 AM CST to July 23, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Clayton County, Strawberry Pt
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.680, -91.530

The Strawberry Point COOP observer measured 9.04 inches of rain in the 24 hour period ending at 6 a.m. CST July 23rd.

Heavy Rain, Fayette

When
July 22, 6:00 AM CST to July 23, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Fayette County, 1.02 mi E of Oelwein
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.680, -91.880

The COOP observer 1 mile east of Oelwein measured 10.15 inches of rain in the 24 hour period ending at 6 a.m. CST July 23rd.

Flood, Clayton

When
July 22, 4:04 PM CST to 6:15 PM CST
Where
Clayton County, 0.49 mi E of Monona to 0.54 mi E of Monona
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
43.050, -91.390

Officers reported street flooding in the town of Monona.

Flood, Clayton

When
July 22, 8:05 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
Where
Clayton County, 1.46 mi ENE of Edgewood to 1.56 mi ENE of Edgewood
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Fire Department/Rescue
Coordinates
42.676, -91.402

The Edgewood Fire Department reported that Bear Creek had rose out of its banks and caused minor flooding.

Lightning, Fayette

When
July 23, 1:26 AM CST
Where
Fayette County, Oelwein
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
Newspaper
Coordinates
42.680, -91.900

Lightning struck a house chimney blowing bricks into the street. No fire occurred from the lightning strike.

Flood, Fayette

When
July 23, 2:15 AM CST to 5:15 AM CST
Where
Fayette County, 1.31 mi SSW of Oelwein to 1.29 mi SSW of Oelwein
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.664, -91.914

Water from heavy rain was about a foot deep at the intersection of 10th Ave SE and Frederick in the city of Oelwein. A total of 6.23 inches of rain fell in the previous 24 hours.

Flood, Fayette

When
July 23, 6:30 AM CST to 10:30 AM CST
Where
Fayette County, 2.66 mi S of Oelwein to 2.73 mi S of Oelwein
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
42.642, -91.908

Flood waters from heavy rain caused State Highways 150 and 281 to be closed on the south side of the city of Oelwein. Several other reports of city streets flooded as well as water in basements were also received.

Flood, Fayette

When
July 23, 7:00 AM CST to 11:15 AM CST
Where
Fayette County, 0.35 mi NW of Oelwein to 0.29 mi NW of Oelwein
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Fire Department/Rescue
Coordinates
42.683, -91.906

Nearly ten inches of rain (9.93 inches) in Oelwein caused Dry Run Creek to go out of its banks.

What these are

Heavy Rain
Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, July 2010

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 246609, 246610, 246560, 246555, 247572, 246565, 246571, 246593.