Heavy rains swell Upper Iowa River

An abundance of rain mid-week this past week put most of northeast Iowa in a constant state of flood warning or flood watch, as area rivers rose with the added moisture. The Upper Iowa River in northern Allamakee County was no exception, as measurements of two to three inches of rain reported in the area Wednesday, May 29 pushed the river to the very edge of its banks and in some cases over its banks. Campers along the Upper Iowa kept a watchful eye on the river as it proposed a bit of a threat to their campsites (as evident in the photo at right), although that threat was never realized. Some area farm fields and other low-lying areas along the Upper Iowa were, however, impacted by the heavy rain, either by minor river flooding or with standing pools of water remaining from the heavy rains that fell at times. Flood stage for the Upper Iowa River is labeled as 14 feet, with the mid-week heavy rains forcing the river level to a high point of 14.79 feet early Saturday morning, June 1, according to the National Weather Service. Photo by Lissa Blake.