Iowa, 2016

Flood in Iowa, October 28 to 31, 2016

October 28 to 31, 2016 · NWS DMX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy rain toward the end of the month led to minor flooding at the Cedar River in Cedar Falls.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 DMX wrote it up.

Heavy rain toward the end of the month led to minor flooding at the Cedar River in Cedar Falls.

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 Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 28, 5:48 PM CST, 2 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 28, 5:48 PM CST, 2 hours 27 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Black Hawk

When
October 28, 8:15 PM CST to October 31, 12:45 AM CST
Where
Black Hawk County, 1.23 mi NE of (Alo)waterloo Muni A to 0.69 mi W of Boies
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
42.560, -92.380

The Cedar River at Cedar Falls crested at 89.3 feet on 29 October 2016 at 23:45 UTC.

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, October 2016

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: 661670.