The flooding that began in late March along the Mississippi River for some northeast Iowa locations, continued into April. The flooding was caused by a combination of melting snow and rains in late March and early April.
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 ARX wrote it up.
The flooding that began in late March along the Mississippi River for some northeast Iowa locations, continued into April. The flooding was caused by a combination of melting snow and rains in late March and early April.
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 Mar 31, 1:54 PM CST, 10 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 254 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT MAIN FORECAST CONCERN CENTERS AROUND PRECIPITATION TONIGHT/FRIDAY AND AGAIN LATE SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR SOME SNOW ACCUMULATION WITH SYSTEM SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY...MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTH. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWING A MAJOR RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE WEST COAST WITH A RATHER DEEP TROUGH OVER THE CENTRAL/EASTERN CONUS. WITHIN THE NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT OVER THE PLAINS/UPPER MIDWEST...A WEAK MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH WAS MOVING EASTWARD INTO THE DAKOTAS. AT TE SURFACE...A TROUGH EXTENDED SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE EASTERN DAKOTAS THROUGH NEB/KS. PV-ADVECTION/WEAK TO MODERATE ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE IN ADVANCE OF THE TROUGH WAS PRODUCING AREAS OF LIGHT RAIN/SNOW ACROSS WESTERN MN/EASTERN DAKOTAS. MEANWHILE ACROSS THE LOCAL AREA...SKIES WERE MOSTLY SUNNY ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA WHILE PARTLY SUNNY SKIES WERE NOTED ELSEWHERE. TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM UPPER 40S/LOWER 50S ACROSS NORTHEAST IA INTO FAR SOUTHWEST WI. ACROSS THE NORTH WHERE MORE SNOW WAS ON THE GROUND...TEMPERATURES WERE ONLY IN THE UPPER 30S/LOWER 40S. 31.12Z NCEP DETERMINISTIC SUITE ALONG WITH THE 31.09Z SREF SHOWING PRETTY DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGH THE SHORT TERM. FOR TONIGHT...THE TROUGH OVER THE DAKOTAS CONTINUES PUSHING EASTWARD TOWARD THE AREA...WITH INCREASING ISENTROPIC LIFT/MOISTURE TRANSPORT. LOOK FOR INCREASING SATURATION OF THE COLUMN...RESULTING IN RAIN SPREADING INTO AREAS WEST OF THE RIVER THIS EVENING...AND EAST OF THE RIVER AFTER MIDNIGHT. WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR PRECIPITATION TYPES WITH SURFACE COOLING OVER NIGHT ALONG WITH DYNAMIC COOLING AS THE MID-LEVEL TROUGH MOVES OVERHEAD. WILL LIKELY SEE MOSTLY RAIN GOING INTO THIS EVENING...AND THEN A RAIN/SNOW MIX OR ALL WET SNOW OVERNIGHT INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. NOT LOOKING FOR MUCH IN THE WAY OF SNOWFALL AS THE GROUND IS RELATIVELY WARM AND SNOW RATE NOT HEAVY ENOUGH. MOST LIKELY AREAS OF SEEING ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL BE NORTHEAST OF THE I90/94 CORRIDORS WHERE TEMPERATURES WILL BE A LITTLE COOLER AND OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN/BLUFF TOPS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. AREAS LIKE CLARK/TAYLOR COUNTIES COULD SEE UPWARDS OF AROUND AN INCH...AND A HALF INCH OR LESS ELSEWHERE AS MENTIONED. MODELS INDICATING THE WAVE/BULK OF PRECIPITATION WILL PUSH EAST OF THE AREA BY THE AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...THE NAM/GFS HOLD ONTO QUITE A BIT OF LOWER-LEVEL MOISTURE/STRATUS THROUGH THE DAY. WENT PESSIMISTIC AS FAR AS ANY CLEARING. MOST LIKELY AREA OF SEEING SOME SUN WILL BE WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. OTHERWISE...WITH CLOUDS/SOME LINGERING PRECIPITATION...LOOK FOR COOLER THAN NORMAL HIGHS AGAIN IN THE UPPER 30S TO MID 40S. CLEARING EXPECTED GOING INTO FRIDAY NIGHT WITH MOSTLY SUNNY CONDITIONS SATURDAY AS A STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE MOVES ACROSS THE PLAINS INTO THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY REGION. WITH INCREASED SUNSHINE ON SATURDAY...LOOK FOR HIGHS TO TOP OFF WELL INTO THE 40S ...WITH A FEW LOWER/MID 50 READINGS ACROSS THE SOUTH. NICE WEATHER WILL BE SHORT-LIVED AS A STRONGER STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES THE REGION FROM THE PLAINS SATURDAY NIGHT THOUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. GFS/ECMWF SHOWS AMPLE ISENTROPIC LIFT ON THE 290K SURFACE ALONG WITH MODERATE 925-850MB MOISTURE TRANSPORT AS THE LOW PUSHES ACROSS SOUTHERN NEBRASKA ON SUNDAY. THIS WILL SPREAD A DECENT SLUG OF RAIN OR RAIN/SNOW MIX INTO THE AREA ONCE AGAIN. GFS/ECMWF ALSO SHOWING SOME ELEVATED CAPE ACROSS THE SOUTH FOR A CHANCE OF THUNDER. DEPENDING ON THE EXACT TRACK OF THE LOW SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY AND AMOUNT OF COOLING THROUGH THE COLUMN...THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL ACROSS THE NORTH. CURRENT INDICATIONS FROM BOTH THE GFS/ECMWF IS SHOWING THE BULK OF HEAVIER SNOW ACCUMULATION FROM THIS STORM SYSTEM STAYING JUST NORTH OF THE AREA. WILL HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MODELS RUNS. OTHERWISE..LOOK FOR SUB-SEASONAL NORMAL TEMPERATURES SUNDAY WITH CLOUDS/PRECIPITATION AS HIGHS ARE ONLY EXPECTED TO TOP OFF IN THE UPPER 30S TO LOWER 40S. .LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY 31.12Z GFS/EC STILL SHOWING SOME MODEL TO MODEL/RUN TO RUN DIFFERENCES THROUGH THE LONG TERM. MAIN CONCERN WILL BE MONDAY/MONDAY NIGHT TIME FRAME. THE 31.12Z EC SHOWS A FASTER WEST TO EAST PROGRESSION OF THE SURFACE LOW TIED TO STRONGER NORTHERN STREAM MID-LEVEL ENERGY. THE GFS ON THE OTHER HAND MAINTAINS A SLOWER/BROADER AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING OUT OF THE PLAINS. TAKING A BLEND APPROACH OF THE TWO WHICH WOULD CONTINUE TO PRODUCE MAINLY RAIN ACROSS THE SOUTH MONDAY WITH A RAIN AND SNOW MIX ACROSS THE NORTH THROUGH MONDAY. BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION LOOKS TO DEPART THE AREA MONDAY NIGHT..WITH THE GFS LINGERING SOME LIGHT WHAT LOOKS TO BE LIGHT RAIN TRANSITIONING TO LIGHT SNOW ACROSS THE AREA. MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW LITTLE AGREEMENT THROUGH THE REST OF THE PERIOD AS WELL THE THE GFS SHOWING A MORE HIGH ZONAL FLOW ACROSS THE CONUS WHEREAS THE EC WANTS TO AMPLIFY/BUILD A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE INTO THE AREA. LINGERED A SMALL CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST ON TUESDAY TO HONOR THE GFS SHOWING US ON THE NORTHWEST PERIPHERY OF PRECIPITATION SHIELD. WENT DRY ON WEDNESDAY WITH A SMALL CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN RETURNING ON THURSDAY AS WE GET INTO SOME WEAK WARM AIR ADVECTION/ISENTROPIC LIFT. TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD LOOK BELOW NORMAL EARLY ON IN THE PERIOD...WARMING TO NEAR NORMAL BY WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY. && .AVIATION...TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY CEILINGS WILL RAPIDLY BECOME MVFR THIS EVENING AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACHES THE REGION. THIS SHOULD OCCUR AT KRST AROUND 01.02Z AND AT KLSE AROUND 01.05Z. AT THE SAME TIME...A BAND OF PRECIPITATION WILL BE ENTERING THE REGION. THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE MAINLY RAIN. HOWEVER THERE MAY BE A BRIEF PERIOD OF SNOW OR A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW AT TIMES. THIS PRECIPITATION SHOULD MOVE OUT OF KRST AROUND 01.06Z AND KLSE AROUND 01.12Z. IN THE WAKE OF THIS SYSTEM...MVFR CLOUDS WILL LIKELY LINGER INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON...AND THEN THE CEILINGS WILL BECOME VFR BY MID OR LATE AFTERNOON. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM...DAS AVIATION..........BOYNE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 332 AM CDT THU MAR 31 2011 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034- 041>044-053>055-061-011200- ADAMS-ALLAMAKEE-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLARK-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE- FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE- MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON- WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 332 AM CDT THU MAR 31 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...NORTHEAST IOWA AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT MINOR FLOODING WILL REMAIN A CONCERN ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER WHERE WATER LEVELS CONTINUED TO SLOWLY RISE TOWARD OR ABOVE FLOOD STAGE. LIGHT RAIN IS EXPECTED TO MIX WITH OR CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW FOR MUCH OF THE AREA TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. SOME MINOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO AN INCH IS POSSIBLE IN COLDER LOCATIONS AND HIGHER TERRAIN...PARTICULARLY EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AFTER MIDNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY FLOODING ALONG RIVERS AND STREAMS WILL REMAIN A CONCERN...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. WATER LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY RISE TOWARD AND ABOVE FLOOD STAGE THROUGH THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI. THOSE WITH INTERESTS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST RIVER STATEMENTS AND FLOOD FORECASTS. A MIX OF LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE DAY FRIDAY...BUT LITTLE TO NO SNOW ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED A STRONG WEATHER SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO TRACK INTO THE REGION ON SUNDAY WITH PRECIPITATION SPREADING INTO THE AREA THROUGH THE DAY. AT THIS TIME IT APPEARS THAT ACCUMULATING SNOW MAY BE POSSIBLE ACROSS AREAS NORTH OF I-90 SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF I-90 WILL MAINLY SEE RAIN...WITH SNOW POSSIBLY MIXING IN AT TIMES. THE DETAILS FOR WHERE THIS SNOW WILL FALL WILL DEPEND ON THE TRACK OF THE STORM AND HOW WARM THE TEMPERATURES GET. IT DOES APPEAR THAT LIQUID AMOUNTS OF A HALF INCH TO ONE INCH COULD FALL OVER THIS TIME FRAME...WHICH COULD LEAD TO SOME LOCAL RISES ON THE RIVERS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SNOWFALL REPORTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED. HALBACH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Mississippi River flooding that began in late March at Marquette, continued through much of April. The river crested over four feet above the flood stage at 21.38 feet on the 18th and did not recede into its banks until the 29th.
The combination of melting snow and rainfall in late March pushed the Mississippi River out of its banks at Guttenberg from the 2nd through the 28th. The river crested four and a half feet above the flood stage at 19.58 feet on the 18th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, April 2011
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: 297092, 297093.