Iowa River taking brunt of the rain, so far

The persistent and, at times, torrential rains of late have pushed rivers in Eastern Iowa to reach major flood stages near some communities and even record-setting levels in several cases.

The Iowa River at Marengo reached major flood stage – at 18.97 feet – late Monday, and the Skunk River near Sigourney reached a record 25.5 feet, well above major flood stage, at noon Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The Iowa River near Tama also reached a record 21.99 feet around midday Tuesday, and the river is expected to reach major flood stage at Wapello on Wednesday, according to the weather bureau. Officials in Iowa City announced flood precautions on Tuesday as more rain loomed in the forecast.

Showers are expected to continue through the week – with a possible break on Wednesday – and, in Cedar Rapids, the Cedar River is expected to reach 15 feet by Thursday, qualifying as moderate flooding but nowhere near the devastating flood of 2008.

So far, the Iowa River has bared the brunt of the flooding and the Cedar River has been somewhat spared because much of the rain has pounded communities to the south and east, said Tom Philip, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities. Still, he said, the next system that is sweeping through is more organized and will affect all of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois.

“It's tough to pick out a totally dry time with these little storms in the forecast,” Philip said. “And each one can potentially produce showers and storms.”

Philip said the storm that drenched the region over the holiday weekend was slow moving and allowed heavy rains to inundate an area. The next set of storms should behave differently, he said.

“The good news is that we do have some wind that will help move the storms along more quickly,” Philip said. “So it might produce heavy rain, but it will move through the area more quickly. That might help reduce what the amounts could be.”

Still, any amount of rain will be a setback for communities already above major flood stage. On Tuesday, Iowa Department of Transportation employees and volunteer firefighters near Tama County were fighting to keep Highway 30, west of Tama, open to one lane of traffic in each direction.

The Iowa River began flowing over the highway Sunday night, and crews began setting up pumps to drain water from the median. Drivers who continue to use the road in the westbound direction are plowing through streams of water, and state workers have hauled in rock to build a small dike on the north side of Highway 30.

Philip said some of the already flooded areas could start to make small drops as the week progresses, even with more rain in the forecast, but he said it could take much longer for river levels to drop to below flood stage in those spots.

In case future rainfall does put more pressure on the Cedar River, Linn County Emergency Management Director Michael Goldberg said Tuesday that he sent a “request for situational awareness” to all the local jurisdictions asking for information on what they are seeing and expecting.

Goldberg said he hasn't received any requests for additional resources or help so far. But, he said, he expects residents, cities and even recreation diehards who enjoy camping by the river are taking precautions. And, he said, emergency management crews are prepared should requests for help come.

“There is always the potential it will occur some place that it was not originally forecast, or we will get surprised like in 2008,” Goldberg said. “So we are always watching it…nothing is guaranteed.”