The extreme temperature swing that caused the Midwest to flood in 2019

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.

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From Mar. 14 to 31, 2019, the Missouri River flooded across Nebraska, Missouri, South Dakota, Iowa, and Kansas. At least a million acres of farmland were flooded. The flooding also took over roads, bridges, levees, dams, and residential areas.

The flood affected around 14 million people.

It all started with the low temperatures throughout the Midwest in early 2019. From January until early March, the temperature stayed between -6 and -1 °C. There was also a blizzard in early March and some areas received up to three feet of snow.

This is when it took a turn.

From Mar. 11 - 13, Nebraska reached temperatures over 15 °C and received over 1.5 inches of rain. The snow quickly melted and the frozen ground wasn't able to absorb enough water, so it headed for the streams and rivers. The river water levels were already high from the previous fall, so the inundation of water led to extreme flooding.

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The rivers were still predominantly frozen, so the powerful flow of water broke up the ice and created huge chunks of ice that travelled downstream.

Iowa and Nebraska were most severely impacted.

Kim Reynolds, Iowa's governor, signed an emergency disaster proclamation and asked the president to declare a disaster in 67 counties. Areas of state parks were also closed. Some of the flood water remained around the state until mid-September. The flooding caused $1.6 billion worth of damage in Iowa.

In Nebraska, the Spencer Dam collapsed, releasing an eleven-foot wall of water. Hundreds of buildings were flooded, including homes, the Offutt Air Force Base, and The University of Nebraska. Pete Ricketts, Nebraska's governor, declared a state of emergency and said that the floods caused the most amount of damage the state has ever experienced. The flooding caused $1.3 billion worth of damage in Nebraska.

The New York Times called the event "The Great Flood of 2019."

To learn more about the 2019 Midwest floods, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."

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Thumbnail: "Aerial view of Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, flooded." Courtesy of U.S. Air Force