Severe Flood ● Closed
Flood Warning issued October 3 at 4:06AM CDT until October 4 at 6:08AM CDT by NWS Des Moines IA, United States of America
Loading live data… · Marker positions are approximate; severity is labelled in each popup. Sources: USGS, GDACS, NASA EONET, NOAA/NWS, EMSC.
...The Flood Warning is extended for the following rivers in Iowa...
Iowa River at Marshalltown affecting Marshall County.
...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers in Iowa...
Black Hawk Creek at Hudson affecting Black Hawk County.
South Skunk River near Ames US 30 affecting Polk and Story
Counties.
South Skunk River at Colfax affecting Polk, Jasper and Marion
Counties.
Des Moines River at Des Moines SE 6th St affecting Warren, Polk and
Marion Counties.
Raccoon River at Des Moines Fleur Dr affecting Polk County.
North Raccoon River near Perry affecting Dallas County.
* WHAT...Moderate flooding is occurring and moderate flooding is
forecast.
* WHERE...Black Hawk Creek at Hudson, or from the Black Hawk-Grundy
County line to the Cedar River in Waterloo.
* WHEN...Until Sunday morning.
* IMPACTS...At 16.0 feet, Water closes Ranchero Rd in Waterloo. Some
residential evacuations may occur.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
- At 2:45 AM CDT Saturday the stage was 16.8 feet, and falling.
- Forecast...The river is expected to fall below flood stage just
after midnight tonight and continue falling to 8.7 feet Friday
evening.
- Flood stage is 15.0 feet.
Measurements
| Coordinates | 42.4350, -92.4117 |
|---|---|
| Region | Black Hawk, IA |
| Location Precision | polygon |
| Issuing Authority | United States of America — us-noaa-nws-en |
| Cap Urgency | Immediate |
| Cap Certainty | Observed |
| Cap Expires | 2026-10-03T16:15:00-05:00 |
Official source
Warnings courtesy of the issuing national meteorological service, via the WMO Alert Hub.
This is an official warning issued by the authority named above. Follow its instructions and those of your local emergency services.
Severity as published by WMO Alert Hub (national weather services).
View original reportThis event as JSON · API and licence
Source updated 16 days ago (Oct 3, 2026 09:07 UTC) · we last heard from WMO Alert Hub (national weather services) 0 seconds ago
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Satellite view, before and after
The latest clear Sentinel-2 pass before this event and the earliest one after it.
2 Oct 2026, the day before this event. 0% cloud across the tile.
7 Oct 2026, 4 days after this event. 6.3% cloud across the tile.
The white ring marks where the event was reported.
Each image is a preview of a whole Sentinel-2 tile — an area of roughly 110 by 110 km, where one pixel is about 320 metres — not a close-up of the event, which may be a small part of it. "Clear" means under 30% cloud across the entire tile, so the exact place that matters can still be hidden. These are pictures for context, not an assessment of damage.
Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026, found through the Earth Search catalogue (Element 84) and served from the AWS Open Data Sentinel-2 archive.
Official authorities in United States
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More for United States →What to do
Follow the instructions issued by WMO Alert Hub (national weather services) and your local emergency services. The guidance below is background.
Flood preparation, evacuation decisions, and the dangers of driving or walking through floodwater.
Open Flood Safety Guide →Earlier flood events in United States
Severe and extreme events of the same kind, before this one. Listed for scale, not because they are connected to it.
Nearby & related events
Disclaimer: figures are automatic feeds from the named agencies and may be revised. Do not use this page for life-safety decisions — follow official local emergency services.