Floods of June 21–July 1, 2018, in the Floyd River and Little Sioux River Basins, northwestern Iowa

Padraic S. O’Shea; Jordan L. Wilson; Jared C. Vegrzyn; Kimberlee K. Barnes

doi:10.3133/ofr20221015

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Floods of June 21–July 1, 2018, in the Floyd River and Little Sioux River Basins, northwestern Iowa

Padraic S. O’Shea·Jordan L. Wilson·Jared C. Vegrzyn·Kimberlee K. Barnes

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Abstract

The Floyd River and Little Sioux River Basins in northwestern Iowa flooded on June 21–July 1, 2018, after sustained rainfall on June 14–27, 2018. Within the Floyd River Basin, rainfall totals from June 14 to 21 preceding flooding were 3.01 inches (in.) at Le Mars, 4.50 in. at Orange City, and 7.44 in. at Sheldon. Within the Little Sioux River Basin, rainfall amounts for the 2-week period from June 14 to 27 preceding flooding were 11.29 in. at Lake Park, 12.95 in. at Milford, 5.56 in. at Spencer, 7.71 in. at Sioux Rapids, and 6.13 in. at Cherokee. Flooding in the Floyd River Basin resulted in a recorded maximum peak discharge of 14,300 cubic feet per second (ft 3 /s; annual exceedance probability [AEP] estimate between 4 and 10 percent) at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgage Floyd River at Alton, Iowa (06600100), and a recorded maximum peak discharge of 9,180 ft 3 /s (AEP estimate greater than 10 percent) at the USGS streamgage Floyd River at James, Iowa (06600500). Flooding in the Little Sioux River Basin resulted in a recorded maximum peak discharge of 16,300 ft 3 /s (AEP estimate between 4 and 10 percent) at the USGS streamgage Little Sioux River at Linn Grove, Iowa (06605850), and maximum peak discharges of 18,700 ft 3 /s (AEP estimate greater than 10 percent) and 20,000 ft 3 /s (AEP estimate greater than 10 percent) were recorded at the USGS streamgages Little Sioux River at Correctionville, Iowa (06606600), and Little Sioux River near Turin, Iowa (06607500), respectively. High-water mark elevations were surveyed at 19 locations along the Floyd River and 22 locations along the Little Sioux River to develop 2 flood profiles: a 52.5-mile profile along the Floyd River from State Highway 3 at Le Mars to U.S. Highway 18 at Sheldon that includes the USGS streamgage Floyd River at Alton and a 101-mile profile along the Little Sioux River from U.S. Highway 59 at Cherokee to U.S. Highway 18 north of Spencer that includes the USGS streamgage Little Sioux River at Linn Grove.

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Source-reported bounding extent: 42.407234661551875° to 43.5326204268101° latitude; -96.6192626953125° to -95.701904296875° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Padraic S. O’Shea, Jordan L. Wilson, Jared C. Vegrzyn, Kimberlee K. Barnes. 2022-02-28. Floods of June 21–July 1, 2018, in the Floyd River and Little Sioux River Basins, northwestern Iowa. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20221015

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