Flood warning issued for Iowa River at Marengo

Heavy rain Monday and Tuesday is expected to cause minor flooding this week in Marengo, which has been at the center of Iowa’s drought in recent summers.

The National Weather Service Quad Cities Bureau on Tuesday issued a flood warning for the Iowa River at Marengo. The river was at 12.7 feet at 9 a.m. Tuesday — just after a brief, but wet storm came through the area — and was expected to rise above the 15-foot flood stage Tuesday night and crest at 16.2 feet early Friday.

Six Eastern Iowa counties, including Linn, Johnson, Benton, Buchanan, Delaware and Iowa, are under flood watch until 9 p.m. Tuesday.

“Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations,” the weather service reported. “You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible flood warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.”

More storms are expected Tuesday night in Eastern Iowa, with possible tornadoes, damaging winds and very large hail, the weather service reported.

The Marengo area has received between 2 and 4 inches of rain in the last week, the agency reported. But the Iowa River also funnels rain runoff from more than two dozen counties in Iowa and southern Minnesota.

The NWS issued a flash flood warning for Iowa County around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday as Big Bear Creek flowed out of its banks and officials closed several roads due to flash flooding.

“We are pretty prepared for flooding as it has happened so many times in the past,” EMA coordinator Josh Humphrey said in an email. “Hopefully it will be short lived but we are prepared and now helping other areas to the west that are currently affected.”

The weather service had eight of 123 river gauges showing rivers near minor flood stage Tuesday morning. In Eastern Iowa, these were at:

East-central Iowa has been under severe drought conditions for the last couple of summers, with the city of Belle Plaine implementing water restrictions July 27. The city’s four shallow wells were producing only 20 percent of their normal capacity, which forced the city to rely more on one deep well.

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