Floods of June-July 1982, in Iowa

Record flood-peak discharges occurred in June and July, 1982, in southwestern, south-central, and east-central Iowa.The record flood peaks resulted from rainfalls of 6 to 8 inches on soil saturated from persistent moderate to heavy rainfalls that began in May and continued through mid July.May was the wettest across Iowa since 1959, averaging just over 7 inches statewide to rank as Iowa's 6th wettest May in 100 years of State records.Statewide rainfall for July averaged in excess of 6 inches to rank among the 3rd wettest July in Iowa since 1958.One of the greatest floods ever recorded in the State occurred on Cedar Creek in south-central Iowa on July 3, 1982.The flood peak discharge at the gaging station near Bussey (05489000) was 4.4 times that of a regional 100-year flood.The gage height exceeded the record flood stage of July 4, 1981, by 5.78 feet.Flood peak discharges on other streams ranged up to 2.7 times that of a regional 100-year flood.agencies cooperated in the collection of the streamflow records used in this report, acknowledgement of which is contained in the annual streamflow reports of the U.S. Geological Survey. Rainfall records are those published by the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration, Climatological Data for Iowa, March-July, 1982.