Widespread heavy rainfall across the region during late May and into early June led to widespread river flooding across eastern Iowa as the waters moved downstream.
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 DVN wrote it up.
Widespread heavy rainfall across the region during late May and into early June led to widespread river flooding across eastern Iowa as the waters moved downstream.
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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 31, 10:43 PM CST, 1 hour 17 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 1143 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013 .SYNOPSIS... ISSUED AT 326 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013 12Z UA ANALYSIS HAD AN OCCLUDED 850MB LOW NEAR KABR WITH AN 850MB COLD FRONT DROPPING SOUTH INTO NEBRASKA AND THEN WEST ALONG THE KS/NE BORDER. A PLUME OF DEEP MOISTURE RAN FROM NORTHERN MEXICO INTO THE LOWER MISSOURI VALLEY WITH A SECONDARY PLUME INTO THE OHIO VALLEY AND GREAT LAKES. SATELLITE TRENDS THROUGH MID AFTERNOON SHOW DIURNAL CONVECTION TRYING TO DEVELOP BUT DOWNWARD MOTION BEHIND THE DEPARTING MCV IS SNUFFING IT OUT. 18Z SFC ANALYSIS HAS A SYNOPTIC LOW NORTH OF KABR WITH THE FRONT RUNNING INTO WESTERN IOWA AND THEN INTO THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE. NUMEROUS OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES WERE ACROSS ILLINOIS AND MISSOURI THAT MET UP WITH A MESO LOW IN EASTERN KANSAS. DEW POINTS WERE GENERALLY IN THE 60S ACROSS THE MIDWEST WITH 70S IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. && .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY) ISSUED AT 326 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013 FIRST...MOST OF THE FLASH FLOOD HEADLINES HAVE BEEN DROPPED. THE ONLY AREAS STILL IN EFFECT ARE THE FAR EAST AND PARTS OF THE SOUTH. HOW CONVECTION...ESPECIALLY THE MCS TONIGHT IN MISSOURI...EVOLVES WILL DICTATE WHEN THE REMAINDER OF THE FLASH FLOOD HEADLINES WILL BE DROPPED. THE NOCTURNAL MCS AND NEW ONE THAT DEVELOPED IN NORTHERN MISSOURI THIS MORNING HAVE HELPED SUPPRESS TEMPERATURES. EVEN WITH THE SUN NOW BREAKING OUT...CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURE WILL BARELY BE ACHIEVED IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. THE STRONG WINDS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE MCS TODAY WERE CAUSED BY CONVECTION MIXING DOWN DRIER AIR ALOFT. MCS AND LIFT TOOLS SUGGEST SOME CONVECTION DEVELOPING DURING PEAK HEATING OVER THE NORTHWEST PART OF THE CWFA BUT IT WILL BE WEAK AND DISSIPATE WITHIN A FEW HOURS OF SUNSET. THE LINGERING CONVECTION OVER THE FAR EAST/SOUTHEAST PARTS OF THE CWFA WILL EXIT THE CWFA BY EARLY EVENING. AFTER THAT...MOST OF THE AREA WILL REMAIN DRY UNTIL THE NEXT MCS DEVELOPS ACROSS MISSOURI. THE MCS TOOL INDICATES A SIGNIFICANT MCS WILL DEVELOP IN MISSOURI DURING THE EVENING AND GENERALLY MOVE EAST NORTHEAST INTO ILLINOIS. THERE ARE SUGGESTIONS THAT THIS MCS MAY BRUSH THE FAR SOUTHEAST PARTS OF THE CWFA TOWARD MORNING. ON SATURDAY...MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE DRY DURING THE MORNING HOURS. AS THE UPPER LOW ARRIVES DURING THE AFTERNOON...CAA ALOFT SHOULD ALLOW DIURNAL SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP. TEMPERATURES WILL BE THE COOLEST IN THE WESTERN CWFA AND THE WARMEST IN THE EASTERN CWFA. ..08.. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY) ISSUED AT 326 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013 SATURDAY NIGHT BEHIND THE COLD FRONT WILL BECOME COOLER WITH NORTHWEST WINDS. THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS WILL BE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA STILL AND WITH PLENTY OF MOISTURE STILL WRAPPED AROUND THE UPPER LOW...EXPECT SHOWERS TO LINGER INTO THE EVENING HOURS BEFORE THE UPPER LOW SHIFTS FARTHER EAST. ANY SHOWERS OR STORMS ON SATURDAY WILL BE LACKING IN HEAVY RAIN OR SEVERE POTENTIAL. MIN TEMPS SATURDAY NIGHT TO FALL INTO THE LOW TO MID 50S. SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY...A BRIEF RESPITE IN THE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN IS IN STORE BOTH DAYS AS UPPER LEVEL RIDGING AND SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE SHIFT ACROSS THE AREA. TEMPERATURES SUNDAY TO BE ABOUT 10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL IN THE 60S...WITH MINS IN THE 50S ABOUT 5 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...THIS WILL BE ANOTHER ACTIVE PERIOD AS ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL APPROACH AND BEGIN TO MOVE ACROSS THE MIDWEST. LEAD SHORTWAVE ENERGY COULD KICK OFF SOME PRECIPITATION AS EARLY AS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...WITH INCREASING SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES BY WEDNESDAY. DUE TO THE NATURE OF THESE UPPER SYSTEMS THIS MAY SLIP...AND MONDAY NIGHT AND MOST OF TUESDAY MAY BE DRY AS WELL. WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND/OR THURSDAY THE FRONT FINALLY MOVES THROUGH THE AREA...WITH TIMING DEPENDING ON THE MODEL. THIS SHOULD ALSO HAVE SOME FAIRLY HIGH POPS...BUT DUE TO UNCERTAINTIES WITH THE MODELS HAVE KEPT BOTH PERIODS CHANCE FOR NOW. A WARMING TREND WILL BRING TEMPERATURES BACK CLOSER TO NORMAL FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. LE && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 1138 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013 VFR CONDITIONS TO GENERALLY VFR CONDITIONS TO PREVAIL ALL TERMINALS THROUGH AT LEAST 01/18Z. REGION IN SW FLOW "DRY SLOT" AHEAD OF LARGE UPPER LOW IN NORTHERN PLAINS. THIS IS PRODUCING PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES. ISOLATED SCT-BKN MVFR CLOUDS NEAR DBQ...CID AND MLI TERMINALS UNTIL 01/09Z. UPPER LOW TO MOVE SLOWLY SOUTHEAST WITH WRAP AROUND MVFR CLOUD BASES OF BKN-OVC COVERAGE TO ARRIVE ALL TERMINALS BETWEEN 01/19-02/02Z. SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 5-10 KTS TO SHIFT...BECOMING WESTERLY AT 10-15+ KTS BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. ISOLATED SPRINKLES OR VERY LIGHT SHOWERS POSSIBLE AFTER 29/02Z BUT LIMITED COVERAGE PRECLUDES PUTTING IN TAFS. NICHOLS && .HYDROLOGY... ISSUED AT 326 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013 VERY LITTLE RAIN FELL ACROSS THE AREA LAST NIGHT AND TODAY. RAINFALL TONIGHT WILL BE EXTREMELY LIGHT AS WELL. AS SUCH...MOST OF THE RAIN THAT HAS FALLEN OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS IS NOW ACCOUNTED FOR IN AREA WATERWAYS. CURRENT RIVER FORECASTS STILL SHOW MODERATE TO MAJOR FLOODING IS EXPECTED ON THE MISSISSIPPI... IOWA...CEDAR...WAPSIPINICON...AND SKUNK RIVERS. ..08.. && .DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...NONE. IL...NONE. MO...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...08 SHORT TERM...08 LONG TERM...LE AVIATION...NICHOLS HYDROLOGY...08
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 910 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-010900- BENTON IA-BUCHANAN IA-BUREAU IL-CARROLL IL-CEDAR IA-CLARK MO-CLINTON IA-DELAWARE IA-DES MOINES IA-DUBUQUE IA-HANCOCK IL-HENDERSON IL-HENRY IA-HENRY IL-IOWA IA-JACKSON IA-JEFFERSON IA-JO DAVIESS IL-JOHNSON IA- JONES IA-KEOKUK IA-LEE IA-LINN IA-LOUISA IA-MCDONOUGH IL-MERCER IL- MUSCATINE IA-PUTNAM IL-ROCK ISLAND IL-SCOTLAND MO-SCOTT IA- STEPHENSON IL-VAN BUREN IA-WARREN IL-WASHINGTON IA-WHITESIDE IL- 910 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL IOWA...NORTHEAST IOWA...SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE...ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL IS NOT EXPECTED. AREA RIVERS ARE EXPERIENCING FLOODING. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST FLOOD STATEMENTS AND FLOOD WARNINGS FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS RETURN TO THE OUTLOOK AREA FROM TUESDAY INTO THURSDAY. IT IS TOO SOON TO DETERMINE THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE REQUIRED TONIGHT. NICHOLS
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 814 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013 ILZ026-034-035-010315- WARREN-HANCOCK-MCDONOUGH- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MONMOUTH...CARTHAGE...MACOMB 814 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013 ...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THROUGH 10 PM... AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE NORTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH 10 PM. THE STRONGEST STORMS MAY PRODUCE BRIEF PERIODS OF SMALL PEA SIZED HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS. RAIN AMOUNTS WILL BE GENERALLY LESS THAN A QUARTER INCH..EXCEPT HIGHER IN THE STRONGEST STORMS. NICHOLS
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
841 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0434 PM TSTM WND DMG 1 NNE AUGUSTA 40.24N 90.95W
05/30/2013 HANCOCK IL TRAINED SPOTTER
ROOF BLOWN OFF OF METAL BUILDING NEAR 4 WAY STOP IN TOWN
AND POLES DOWN NEAR AUGUSTA...TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
&&
GROSSThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rains in late May lead to the Wapsipinicon River starting June above major flood stage. The river fell quickly below the major flood stage of 19 feet on the evening of the 2nd.
The Cedar River in Cedar Rapids began June above major flood stage.
Heavy rain that fell late in May caused the Iowa River at Marengo to be above major flood stage of 18.5 feet to start the month. The river did not fall below major flood stage at Marengo until the early morning hours on the 4th.
The North Fork of the Skunk River began June above the major flood stage of 21 feet and fell below 21 feet in the late evening hours of the first.
The Skunk River was above the major flood stage of 20 feet to start the month and falls below the major flood stage on the evening of the 2nd.
Heavy rain across the region late in the month of May led to rises along the Mississippi River to above major flood stage at Gladstone, Illinois and Burlington, Iowa. The Mississippi River at Gladstone and Burlington began the month above their major flood stages of 14 and 18 feet respectively and remained above major flood stage through late in the day on the 12th.
Heavy rain across the region late in the month of May led to the Mississippi River being above the major flood stage of 18 feet to begin the month. The river fell below major flood stage by mid morning on the 1st and then rose back above it shortly after midnight on the 4th. The river remained above major flood stage until late in the day on the 9th.
The Iowa River at Columbus Junction rose above the major flood stage of 23 feet during the late morning hours of the 1st and did not fall below major flood stage until the early morning hours of the 7th.
The Iowa River at Wapello rose above the major flood stage of 25 feet in the early afternoon of the first. The river remained above major flood stage until the the late evening of the 7th.
The Cedar River at Conesville rose above the major flood stage of 16.5 feet in the early morning hours of the 2nd and fell below major flood stage in the early morning hours of the 5th.
Heavy rain across the region late in the month of May led to rises along the Mississippi River to above major flood stage at New Boston and Keithsburg. The Mississippi River at New Boston rose above the major flood stage of 18.5 feet during the early afternoon of the 2nd and fell below 18.5 feet late in the day of the 9th. The Mississippi River at Keithsburg rose above the major flood stage of 17 feet during the afternoon of the 2nd and fell below 17 feet early in the morning of the 10th.
Heavy rains in late May led to rises on rivers across the region. The Wapsipinicon River rose above the major flood stage of 12.5 feet during the late evening hours of the 2nd. The river did not fall below the major flood stage until the afternoon hours of the 10th.
Heavy rains in late May led to rises on rivers across the region. The Wapsipinicon River rose above the major flood stage of 12.5 feet during the late evening hours of the 2nd. The river did not fall below the major flood stage until the afternoon hours of the 10th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, June 2013
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: 463809, 463847, 464993, 465099, 465103, 465143, 465151, 464994, 465093, 464988, 465136, 463821, 463823.