Iowa, 2019

Heavy Rain in Iowa, July 28 to 29, 2019

July 28 to 29, 2019 · NWS DMX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Rain, rain, rain was the name of the game here. An open wave upper level trough was sliding through the region, with an attendant surface cold frontal boundary moving through Iowa later on the 28th and through the 29th.

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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

Rain, rain, rain was the name of the game here. An open wave upper level trough was sliding through the region, with an attendant surface cold frontal boundary moving through Iowa later on the 28th and through the 29th. Overall, the setup pointed towards fairly long periods of rainfall with consistent southwest low level flow, precipitable water values approaching 1.8 to 2.0 inches, and a relatively slow moving boundary. Ultimately heavy rainfall was all that was experienced, with a few locations clocking in in excess of 2 inches.

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 Jul 28, 4:47 AM CST, 2 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 28, 4:47 AM CST, 2 hours 13 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 28, 3:59 AM CST, 3 hours 1 minute 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

3 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Butler

When
July 28, 7:00 AM CST to July 29, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Butler County, 1.38 mi N of Kesley
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.690, -92.920

Trained spotter reported heavy rainfall of 2.3 inches over the last 24 hours.

Heavy Rain, Union

When
July 28, 4:15 PM CST to July 29, 1:00 AM CST
Where
Union County, 3.18 mi SSE of Thayer
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
40.990, -94.020

Trained spotter reported storm total heavy rainfall of 1.80 inches. Times estimated from radar.

Heavy Rain, Decatur

When
July 28, 4:30 PM CST to July 29, 1:30 AM CST
Where
Decatur County, (30i)lamoni Muni Arp
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
40.630, -93.900

Lamoni Municipal Airport ASOS recorded heavy rainfall of 2.31 inches. Beginning and ending times estimated from radar.

What these are

Heavy Rain
Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, July 2019

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 842064, 842065, 842063.