What All That Weekend Rain Means for Area Rivers

A very strange December weekend left behind almost two-and-a-quarter inches of rain in Cedar Rapids and many other places got saturated as well. That means flooding on a number of Eastern Iowa rivers, including the Cedar. A very uncommon thing in December.

The Cedar River in Cedar Rapids was just over eight feet at 1 o'clock this afternoon. It's expected to crest around noon on Friday at 12.8 feet (see table below). It will hold that level for more than 24 hours before slowly dropping. That puts it in minor flooding and thankfully no more rain is in the forecast. The Cedar at Vinton is expected to crest just below 15 feet at midnight Friday morning, barely avoiding flooding in that community. However, Conesville is forecast to hit 15.1 feet, considered moderate flooding. The crest isn't expected there until midnight Sunday morning.

The English River at Kalona will be just a few inches short of major flood stage when it crests at 17.7 feet tomorrow at noon. Flood stage is 14.0 feet. A number of county roads will flood once the river reaches 17 feet. They include 13th St, Kiwi Ave, Orange Ave and Poplar Ave.

The Iowa River has already topped its banks in Marengo, where the forecast crest is 17.9 feet on Monday (12/21). Thankfully only agricultural land is affected, even at that level. Iowa City is not expected to come anywhere near its flood stage with minimal flooding expected in Lone Tree. The river should crest in the moderate flooding range of 22.3 feet in Columbus Junction Sunday night.

The Wapsipinicon River is expected to stay below flood stage in Independence but will top out in moderate flood range (16.4 feet) in Anamosa on Friday.

Considering all the rain eastern Iowa received, all those numbers are pretty good. Then again, it is December. It's strange we're even talking about it.

[via the National Weather Service]