Northwest Iowa — This is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa. Each day this week the National Weather Service has been focusing on a different severe weather topic. Today we wrap up the week with flash flooding.
Warning Coordination Meteorologist Peter Rogers at the Sioux Falls office says the flooding that they’re talking about this week is a little different from the heavy rain and snowmelt we had earlier this month.
He says that’s because moving water can carry a vehicle away very easily and even with standing water, you can’t tell if the road is under that water.
He tells us what you should do in a home or business.
According to the Weather Service, a flash flood is a rapid rise of water along a stream or low-lying urban area. Flash floods can roll boulders, tear out trees, destroy buildings and bridges, and scour out new channels. Rapidly rising water can reach heights of 30 feet or more. Flash flood-producing rains also can trigger catastrophic mudslides.
