Flooding hit several regions of the state Friday after steady and heavy overnight rains. Highway 30 was closed in the Ames area Friday afternoon as Squaw Creek and the Skunk River flooded.
Iowa State University chief of police Jerry Stewart says Squaw Creek reached its third-highest level on record. "In 1993 which was our landmark, record high is was at 18.54 feet," he says. "This one, we have recorded 15.82 (feet)."
Hundreds of acres of farmland in Story County were submerged and a major thoroughfare on the southside of Ames was flooded when the Squaw Creek escaped its banks. "The National Weather Service was projecting a crest in early afternoon of slightly over 12 feet," Stewart says. "We’re seeing an actual level that was three feet above that."
In Vinton, 4.5 inches of rain came in a deluge Thursday night into Friday morning. A handful of businesses and homes in Vinton were evacuated when Hinkle Creek flooded and the water backed up into the basement of the Benton County Courthouse in Vinton. The Cedar River at Vinton was expected to crest just below flood stage.
The Maquoketa River at Manchester passed beyond flood stage and flowed over Highway 13, forcing its closure in the area. Several streets in the city of Manchester were flooded, too. In western Iowa, street flooding was reported in Onawa.