A federal hiring freeze and layoffs at the National Weather Service are impacting the accuracy of forecasts and long-range outlooks. IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering Director Larry Weber shares how tens of millions of dollars in federal grants and contracts that were headed to the University of Iowa-housed laboratory have been put on hold.

Sitting at the confluence of the Iowa and Cedar Rivers in Louisa County, Columbus Junction has dealt with flooding issues including widespread events in 2008, 1993 and prior. The city was chosen in 2023 as one of four to join the Iowa Flood Resilient Communities Cohort, along with Muscatine, Dubuque and Manchester. These cities will work with the Iowa Flood Center (IFC) and American Flood Coalition (AFC) to mitigate future hazards.

Similar to its prediction made earlier this month, the Nation Weather Service’s Quad Cities bureau is anticipating below normal spring flood risks. Tim Gross, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the risk for severe flooding on the Mississippi River this spring is currently 5 to 10 percent.

As part of sweeping cuts across a broad swath of U.S. departments and agencies, $35 million in federal grants and contracts headed to the University of Iowa’s 105-year-old IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering center have been placed on hold.

Amid an uncertain situation surrounding federal funding, representatives from the Iowa Flood Center and Iowa Geological Survey mingled with Iowa lawmakers Tuesday to make their case for increasing state allocations.

On Tuesday, March 11 the Iowa Flood Center (IFC) hosted its' annual Legislative Breakfast at the state capitol with the Iowa Geological Survey. The annual event provides an opportunity for local, state, and federal partners to celebrate successful collaborations and exchange ideas for continuing to advance water resource management across the state.

The National Weather Service is currently predicting low flood risk heading into spring, though last summer’s catastrophic flooding in Northwest Iowa amidst a drought is a reminder how quickly conditions can change. New research shows that Iowa has become a hotspot for flash flooding, and it’s important for communities, decision-makers, and the public to know their flood risks to reduce impacts. 

Flooding and water quality degradation are significant challenges in Iowa's agricultural watersheds, driven by intensive farming practices and increasingly extreme weather events. Relay cropping, a regenerative farming practice, offers a solution by keeping soil covered and living roots in the ground year-round to reduce runoff and improve soil health.

The City of Spencer has partnered with an Iowa web design agency to roll out a new system to informed residents of any potentially hazardous situations.

Vanessa Robledo, a second-year PhD student in civil and environmental engineering (CEE), is helping improve the Iowa Flood Center’s abilities to better forecast flash flood events. Building on her master’s studies in meteorology from Medellin, Colombia, her research focuses on improving methods for predicting weather patterns to enhance flood forecasting.