Heavy rains in the end of April into early May sent a few local rivers across central and northern Iowa into flood.
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.
Heavy rains in the end of April into early May sent a few local rivers across central and northern Iowa into flood.
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 May 1, 2:45 AM CST, 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 345 AM CDT SUN MAY 1 2016 .SHORT TERM.../TODAY/ ISSUED AT 345 AM CDT SUN MAY 1 2016 ANOTHER VERY MESSY FORECAST FOR TODAY. THE UPPER LOW WILL SLOWLY MIGRATE ACROSS THE STATE TODAY. AHEAD OF THE LOW WE WILL CONTINUE TO DEAL WITH STRATUS AND FOG ALONG WITH A COLD DRIZZLE. BANDS OF PRECIP ACROSS NORTHERN IOWA AND TO THE WEST WILL WRAP AROUND THE LOW AND BRING SHOWERS...ESPECIALLY TO SOUTHERN IOWA...AS THE UPPER LOW MOVES BY. BY LATE IN THE AFTERNOON...THE WEST SHOULD FINALLY SEE AN END TO THE SHOWERS BUT STRATUS AND LIKELY SOME DRIZZLE WILL REMAIN. THE EAST SHOULD SEE SHOWERS THROUGH THE TODAY PERIOD OF THE FORECAST. TEMPS WILL AGAIN GO NOWHERE AND I OPTED FOR THE COOL SIDE OF GUIDANCE OR A COUPLE DEGREES BELOW GUIDANCE SOUTH ONCE AGAIN. .LONG TERM.../TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/ ISSUED AT 345 AM CDT SUN MAY 1 2016 THE UPPER LOW PASSING ACROSS THE STATE TODAY WILL OPEN UP AND SHIFT EAST BY THIS EVENING. POSSIBLE A FEW PATCHES OF VERY LIGHT PRECIPITATION LINGERS INTO THE EARLY EVENING OTHERWISE DRYING CONDITIONS WILL ARRIVE WITH WEAK HIGH PRESSURE ARRIVING. SOLUTIONS HAVE COME IN LINE WITH WHAT THE ECMWF HAS BEEN SUGGESTING THE PAST 48 HRS FOR MONDAY. THE UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE CURRENTLY OVER NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN...WILL MOVE INTO MANITOBA TONIGHT THEN DROP SOUTH AND IMPACT THE STATE ON MONDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL FEATURE A COLD CORE ALOFT WHICH WILL ENHANCE INSTABILITY AS LAPSE RATES STEEPEN WITH SOME SFC HEATING COMBINED WITH THE COOLING TEMPERATURES ALOFT. SOME WEAK CAPE DOES DEVELOP HOWEVER EQUILIBRIUM LEVELS ARE CAPPED AT 15 KFT OR BELOW AND NEAR -15C...BOTH OF WHICH SHOULD LIMIT AND THUNDER POTENTIAL. HAVE INCREASED POPS A BIT OVER THE SOUTH. STILL NO POPS ACROSS THE NORTH HOWEVER STILL THE POTENTIAL THAT PRECIPITATION WILL NEED TO BE ADDED FURTHER NORTH PENDING TIMING AND PLACEMENT DETAILS. TUESDAY WILL BE MILD AND DRY WITH THE LOW LEVEL FLOW BECOMING WESTERLY. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOW 70S TUESDAY. A CLOSED UPPER LOW WILL DIVE SOUTH INTO THE GREAT LAKES REGION TUESDAY NIGHT. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING A NARROW WINDOW OF FORCING AND A SHALLOW RIBBON OF MOISTURE NEAR 750 MB OVER NORTHEAST/EASTERN IA. THIS MAY BE ENOUGH FOR A FEW SHOWERS TO DEVELOP. DRIER AIR WILL QUICKLY FOLLOW BY 06Z WITH PRECIPITATION CHANCES ENDING. WEDNESDAY WILL BE COOLER AS THE SYSTEM WILL ALSO DRAG COOLER TEMPERATURES INTO THE STATE. A WARMING TREND WILL BEGIN THURSDAY AS THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM MOVES OVER THE EASTERN CONUS WHILE ANOTHER LARGE UPPER LOW DEVELOPS OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST. THIS WILL THE DEFAULT RIDGE BETWEEN THE TWO SYSTEMS AND WARMER AIR TO MOVE EAST TOWARDS THE STATE. HIGH TEMPERATURES BY NEXT WEEKEND MAY PUSH 80 IN SOME AREAS. && .AVIATION.../FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY NIGHT/ ISSUED AT 1143 PM CDT SAT APR 30 2016 LOW CLOUDS AND LIGHT SHOWERS WILL PERSIST INTO SUNDAY AFTERNOON...WITH ASSOCIATED IFR OR LOW MVFR VSBYS/CIGS ESPECIALLY AT DSM/OTM. THERE SHOULD BE STEADY IMPROVEMENT DURING THE AFTERNOON AS THE SHOWERS GRADUALLY CLEAR OUT...HOWEVER TOMORROW NIGHT AS WINDS BECOME LIGHT THERE IS SOME QUESTION AS TO HOW MUCH FOG/STRATUS MAY REDEVELOP OVER THE AREA AFTER SUNSET. THIS WILL BE FURTHER ASSESSED FOR SUBSEQUENT TAF ISSUANCES. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...FAB LONG TERM...DONAVON AVIATION...LEE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 353 PM CDT SAT APR 30 2016 IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075- 081>086-092>097-011000- 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- 353 PM CDT SAT APR 30 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. MJB
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Raccoon River at Fleur Drive in Des Moines crested at 4:30 pm CDT on 1 May 2016 at 13.67 feet.
The Des Moines River at Estherville crested at 11:00 pm CDT on 1 May 2016 at 9.05 feet.
The North Raccoon River at Perry crested at midnight CDT on 4 May 2016 at 16.74 feet.
The Des Moines River at SE 6th in Des Moines crested at 4:30 am CDT on 5 May 2016 at 25.03 feet.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, May 2016
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: 633593, 633595, 633596, 633594.