The National Weather Service in Quad Cities has issued a Flash Flood Warning for Dubuque County, eastern Delaware County, northern Jones County, and northwestern Jackson County in northeastern Iowa, plus western Jo Daviess County in northwestern Illinois. The warning runs until 11:15 AM CDT Sunday — and with 1 to 2.5 inches of rain already on the ground and more falling, this is exactly the kind of overnight-to-morning setup that sends water into finished basements, slab-on-grade homes, and low commercial buildings across the Dubuque area.
This is a live snapshot as of 5:20 AM Central (3:20 AM Pacific) on Sunday, September 20, 2026. Conditions change fast — always verify with the National Weather Service for your specific county or ZIP code.
Dubuque County, IA — Flash Flood Warning
Issued by: NWS Quad Cities (Iowa/Illinois), 5:12 AM CDT. Expires: 11:15 AM CDT Sunday.
The hazard, in NWS wording: At 5:12 AM CDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Between 1 and 2.5 inches of rain have fallen, and additional rainfall amounts of 0.5 to 1 inch are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly. Source: radar indicated.
Expected impacts: Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses, as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas.
Communities in the warning path include Dubuque, Asbury, Dyersville, Epworth, Farley, Peosta, Cascade, New Vienna, Holy Cross, Luxemburg, and Rickardsville.
Eastern Delaware & Northern Jones Counties, IA — Flash Flood Warning
Same warning, same timing: issued 5:12 AM CDT, in effect until 11:15 AM CDT Sunday, radar-indicated heavy rain with 1 to 2.5 inches already down and up to another inch possible.
Communities: Monticello, Hopkinton, Earlville, Colesburg, and Worthington sit inside the warned portions of these counties.
The concern here is the classic small-watershed setup: an inch or two of rain on ground that may already be saturated, and water that funnels into the small creeks and low crossings that thread through these counties. In hilly terrain there are hundreds of low water crossings that turn dangerous in heavy rain — the NWS specifically warns against attempting to cross flooded roads.
Northwestern Jackson County, IA — Flash Flood Warning
Same warning window (until 11:15 AM CDT). Communities: Bellevue and La Motte are the named locations in the warned portion of the county.
River-adjacent low spots and underpasses along the highway corridors are the places to watch here. Overnight flooding at low crossings is the hardest kind to spot — it is dark, the road surface looks continuous, and the water only needs to be six inches deep to knock a person off their feet or stall a car.
Western Jo Daviess County, IL — Flash Flood Warning
The warning crosses the Mississippi into Illinois: western Jo Daviess County is warned until 11:15 AM CDT under the same radar-indicated heavy-rain signature.
Communities: East Dubuque is the named location in the warned area.
Hilly terrain and bluff-country drainage mean water arrives fast and concentrates in the draws. Do not attempt to cross flooded roads — find an alternate route.
Stay safe tonight
Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be especially cautious at night, when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding — and at 5:20 in the morning, that warning is as literal as it gets.
If water enters your home: stay out of standing water where electricity may be present. Avoid the basement until water recedes and power is confirmed off. Photograph everything before cleanup — that documentation is what your insurance claim runs on. Then call a local restoration contractor: water left sitting starts a second wave of damage (wicking, swelling, microbial growth) within a day.
Report observed flooding to local emergency services or law enforcement, and ask them to pass the information to the National Weather Service when you can do so safely.
What this means for restoration teams
This is the signature scenario for the interior water-intrusion job: not a named hurricane, just 1 to 2.5 inches of fast rain in the dark, followed by another half inch to an inch before noon. The jobs that come out of this are saturated carpet and pad in finished basements, water wicking up drywall in walkouts, sump systems overwhelmed or without battery backup, and window-well and foundation-seepage calls that get discovered after sunrise when people walk downstairs.
Mold risk clocks start the moment materials stay wet: 24 to 48 hours on saturated drywall and insulation. Sewage backup is the wildcard in low-lying urban blocks — ask on the first call whether the water has an odor or discoloration, because that changes the job category entirely.
The play for Quad Cities-area contractors this morning: stage extraction equipment and dehumidifiers now, keep an on-call rotation through at least noon (the warning runs to 11:15 AM CDT, and calls keep coming for hours after water recedes), and capture address, water source, and affected areas on the first call. Photo-document before mitigation, moisture-map every affected room — not just the one with standing water — and keep the homeowner’s payment responsibility clear in writing before work starts.
FEMA & federal assistance
If the flooding turns into a declared disaster, the FEMA Helpline is 1-800-621-3362 (7 a.m.–10 p.m. local, 7 days a week). You can also apply at DisasterAssistance.gov, through the FEMA app, or find recovery centers at fema.gov/drc. Basic eligibility: U.S. citizenship or qualified status, identity verification, proof of occupancy or ownership, and unmet needs not covered by insurance. Apply as soon as it is safe to do so.
Looking ahead
The warning expires at 11:15 AM CDT. Watch for two things after that: whether the NWS extends or re-issues (another 0.5 to 1 inch is explicitly possible, and a fresh cell on saturated ground can restart this fast), and creeks and small streams cresting later in the day — the water keeps moving downstream after the rain stops. The next NWS update lands with any extension or the expiration itself; check the Quad Cities office page for the latest.
Demand window note for contractors: water-intrusion calls typically start within hours of water receding and keep coming for days as people discover damage — the slow wick behind baseboards is tomorrow’s job.
Sources & how to verify
- NWS alert: Flash Flood Warning — NWS Quad Cities IA IL
- Issuing office: weather.gov/dvn (NWS Quad Cities)
- To verify for your own county or ZIP: check weather.gov or your local NWS office page for the current active-alert map.
This post is for informational purposes and is not an official weather warning. Always follow instructions from local authorities and the National Weather Service.
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