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Floods of May 30 to June 15, 2008, in the Iowa River and Cedar River Basins, Eastern Iowa

Entry ID: USGS_OFR_2010_1190

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Summary

Abstract: As a result of prolonged and intense periods of rainfall in late May and early June, 2008, along with heavier than normal snowpack the previous winter, record flooding occurred in Iowa in the Iowa River and Cedar River Basins. The storms were part of an exceptionally wet period from May 29 through June 12, when an Iowa statewide average of 9.03 inches of rain fell; the normal statewide average for ... the same period is 2.45 inches. From May 29 to June 13, the 16-day rainfall totals recorded at rain gages in Iowa Falls and Clutier were 14.00 and 13.83 inches, respectively. Within the Iowa River Basin, peak discharges of 51,000 cubic feet per second (flood-probability estimate of 0.2 to 1 percent) at the 05453100 Iowa River at Marengo, Iowa streamflow-gaging station (streamgage) on June 12, and of 39,900 cubic feet per second (flood-probability estimate of 0.2 to 1 percent) at the 05453520 Iowa River below Coralville Dam near Coralville, Iowa streamgage on June 15 are the largest floods on record for those sites. A peak discharge of 41,100 cubic feet per second (flood-probability estimate of 0.2 to 1 percent) on June 15 at the 05454500 Iowa River at Iowa City, Iowa streamgage is the fourth highest on record, but is the largest flood since regulation by the Coralville Dam began in 1958.

Within the Cedar River Basin, the May 30 to June 15, 2008, flood is the largest on record at all six streamgages in Iowa located on the mainstem of the Cedar River and at five streamgages located on the major tributaries. Flood-probability estimates for 10 of these 11 streamgages are less than 1 percent. Peak discharges of 112,000 cubic feet per second (flood-probability estimate of 0.2 to 1 percent) at the 05464000 Cedar River at Waterloo, Iowa streamgage on June 11 and of 140,000 cubic feet per second (flood-probability estimate of less than 0.2 percent) at the 05464500 Cedar River at Cedar Rapids, Iowa streamgage on June 13 are the largest floods on record for those sites. Downstream from the confluence of the Iowa and Cedar Rivers, the peak discharge of 188,000 cubic feet per second (flood-probability estimate of less than 0.2 percent) at the 05465500 Iowa River at Wapello, Iowa streamgage on June 14, 2008, is the largest flood on record in the Iowa River and Cedar River Basins since 1903.

High-water marks were measured at 88 locations along the Iowa River between State Highway 99 near Oakville and U.S. Highway 69 in Belmond, a distance of 319 river miles. High-water marks were measured at 127 locations along the Cedar River between Fredonia near the mouth (confluence with the Iowa River) and Riverview Drive north of Charles City, a distance of 236 river miles. The high-water marks were used to develop flood profiles for the Iowa and Cedar River.

[Summary provided by the USGS.]

Geographic Coverage

(Click for Interactive Map)

Spatial coordinates

N: 44.0

S: 41.0

E: -92.0

W: -94.0

Data Set Citation

Dataset Originator/Creator: S. Mike Linhart and David A. Eash

Dataset Title: Floods of May 30 to June 15, 2008, in the Iowa River and Cedar River Basins, Eastern Iowa

Dataset Series Name: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report

Dataset Release Date: 2010

Dataset Release Place: U.S.

Dataset Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

Version: 1.0

Issue Identification: 2010–1190

Data Presentation Form: Report

Online Resource: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1190/

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 2008-05-30

Stop Date: 2008-06-15

Location Keywords

CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > IOWA

Science Keywords

ATMOSPHERE > PRECIPITATION > RAIN

TERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE > SURFACE WATER > FLOODS

ISO Topic Category

CLIMATOLOGY/METEOROLOGY/ATMOSPHERE

Platform

FIELD INVESTIGATION

Instrument

RAIN GAUGES

STREAM GAUGES

Access Constraints None

Use Constraints None

Ancillary Keywords

Rainfall

Flooding

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Originating Center

USGS

Data Center

Iowa Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior

Data Center URL: http://ia.water.usgs.gov/

Data Center Personnel
Name: IOWA WATER SCIENCE CENTER Phone: 319-337-4191 Fax: 319-358-3606 Contact Address: US Geological Survey 400 S Clinton St Suite 269 City: Iowa City Province or State: IA Postal Code: 52240 Country: USA

Distribution

Distribution Media: Online

Distribution Size: 4.4 MB

Distribution Format: PDF

Fees: No fees

Personnel

IOWA WATER SCIENCE CENTER

Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Phone: 319-337-4191

Fax: 319-358-3606

Contact Address:

US Geological Survey

400 S Clinton St

Suite 269

City: Iowa City

Province or State: IA

Postal Code: 52240

Country: USA

TYLER B. STEVENS

Role: DIF AUTHOR

Phone: (301) 614-6898

Fax: 301-614-5268

Email: Tyler.B.Stevens at nasa.gov

Contact Address:

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Global Change Master Directory

City: Greenbelt

Province or State: MD

Postal Code: 20771

Country: USA

Creation and Review Dates

DIF Creation Date: 2010-11-19

Last DIF Revision Date: 2010-11-23

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