Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain
Heavy rainfall and tornado warnings triggered flash flooding across Iowa, stranding vehicles and flooding homes and roads.
Severe weather brought flooding and tornado warnings in parts of Iowa on July 11.
Heavy rainfall that began Thursday night overwhelmed communities across eastern and central Iowa, culminating in a rare flash flood emergency for parts of the Quad Cities late Friday and extending into early Saturday.
As of Saturday morning, major roads remained impassable, and residents in Davenport and Bettendorf were still assessing the damage after flash flooding inundated homes and businesses.
The National Weather Service extended a flash flood emergency into early Saturday for southern Scott County, Iowa, and Rock Island County, Illinois, warning of “a particularly dangerous situation.” Officials advised residents to avoid all travel and move to higher ground.
Davenport recorded more than 4.3 inches of rain by Friday evening, according to the NWS Quad Cities office. Nearby Bettendorf saw 3.5 inches. The rapid rainfall overwhelmed Duck Creek and other waterways, swamping streets, flooding first floors of businesses and stranding vehicles across the metro area. Footage shared on social media showed residents wading through waist-deep floodwaters and stalled cars abandoned on roadways.
The storms were part of a larger system that began moving across Iowa late Thursday, July 10, triggering severe weather across much of the state. The system intensified Friday afternoon as a line of severe storms moved across the region, producing strong winds, small hail and heavy rain.
Winds over 60 mph were seen with some of these storms, bringing tornado warnings and damaging wind gusts of more than 70 mph to several cities. In Cascade, wind gusts reached 85 mph, while Dubuque and Cedar Rapids reported downed trees and scattered outages. A semi-truck was knocked over along I-380 near Cedar Rapids.
In Newton, severe weather halted activities at Iowa Speedway on Friday afternoon as tornado sirens sounded during INDYCAR practice. IndyCar canceled remaining track events for the day after rotation was spotted in the clouds. The National Weather Service is reviewing images and video from the area, but as of Saturday had not confirmed any tornado touchdowns.
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Flash flooding was also reported in Ames and Des Moines, where rainfall totals reached 3 inches in some locations by Friday afternoon. Johnston and Waukee closed trails, water access points and bridges due to rising water.
From Thursday through Friday evening, rainfall totals surpassed 3 inches in multiple Iowa cities. According to The Des Moines Register, Waterloo saw 3.48 inches of rain, Ames reached 3.14 inches and Marshalltown reported 2.82 inches. Local emergency officials in Scott County encouraged displaced residents to contact the Red Cross for assistance.
On Saturday, the risk of severe weather will advance more to the east and south over the Central and Great Lake states, AccuWeather meteorologists said. During part of Saturday afternoon to Saturday night, thunderstorms capable of producing high winds, hail and flash flooding will extend from Michigan and far northeastern Wisconsin to Oklahoma, eastern New Mexico and West Texas.
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