The Settlement along with much of central and eastern Iowa will be under a flash flood watch over the next couple of days due to heavy, sustained rainfalls supplied by the remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal. The National Weather Service predicts “1 to 3 inches of rainfall with locally higher amounts of 4 inches possible. Rainfall rates of up to 2 inches per hour may cause flash flooding.” More rain is expected to fall Wednesday and dissipate Thursday. Heavy rain throughout the Iowa River Watershed will create greater flooding risks for the Settlement, especially low-lying and/or poorly drained areas on the floodplain, with flash flooding possible in smaller creek basins. The Iowa Flood Center model for a 2 inch rain event expects the Iowa River to approach minor flood stage in the coming days. With more than 2 inches of rainfall possible from Tuesday-Thursday, Settlement residents are advised to prepare accordingly.
The latest observed value at the USGS stream gauge on the Iowa River at County Highway E49 was 8.38 ft at 2:00 pm, which is well below the 11.0 ft action stage level. Meskwaki Natural Resources will be monitoring the storm and flooding situations and keeping you updated. You may track flood levels and forecasts from the National Weather Service from computer or smartphone at this link: https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=dmx&gage=tmai4.