Kathryn Barber stood on a closed section of Iowa Highway 141, overwhelmed by the sight of the Little Sioux River’s floodwaters. Only the roof of a nearby home remained visible above the water. Once dry and dusty ball fields now resembled marinas, with foul poles and scoreboards barely emerging from the flood. Barber and her husband, Bill, who lives on a nearby bluff, held onto a fragile hope that their home would withstand the rising waters. “It’s very surreal,” Barber said. “It’s hard when you’ve got to leave all your stuff behind. I’m not 100% confident.”

Floodwaters Submerge Homes and Fields

For over a week, severe weather, thunderstorms, and flooding have battered parts of Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. More than a dozen rivers have overflowed, wreaking havoc on nearby communities. In Minnesota, a river partially breached a dam and engulfed a nearby home.

AccuWeather warned that the swollen rivers feeding into the Mississippi River would cause significant flooding in St. Paul, Minnesota, by the week’s end. A high-pressure system over the southern U.S. will continue to bring thunderstorms and potentially derechos—powerful, fast-moving storms—throughout the week and beyond, according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok. This means more water surges and flooding are expected.

Severe Weather and Flooding Continue

The National Weather Service reported that hot and humid conditions would return across much of the nation’s southern tier, with highs forecasted in the mid-to-upper 90s and low 100s expected in parts of South Carolina, Georgia, and the southern High Plains. Meanwhile, Europe is experiencing record heat, prompting Greece to close some ancient sites and warn tourists to avoid unnecessary risks amid a deadly heat wave.

In South Dakota, flash floods have affected thousands in Minnehaha, Lincoln, and Union counties, displacing residents, damaging property, and disrupting travel. Morgan Speichinger, who moved to McCook Lake in North Sioux City in 2019, had to leave her home Sunday evening as water levels rose. She thought it would be her forever home for her family, but the flooding forced them to evacuate.

Communities Struggle with Displacement and Damage

The ongoing flooding is a result of a weather pattern that began about two weeks ago, bringing storms that dumped more than a month’s worth of rain in just a few days. These storms also brought heavy winds and hail. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski warned that some farmland in the Midwest could remain underwater for weeks.

In Minnesota, the Rapidan Dam near Mankato suffered a “partial failure” on Monday but remained intact as of Wednesday. Floodwaters have undercut a house near the dam, causing it to collapse into the Blue Earth River. Jenny Barnes, whose family owns the nearby Dam Store, expressed her despair as she watched the floodwaters claim their home. Authorities are closely monitoring the river and dam for potential downstream impacts, though no mass evacuation plans have been announced. As the Midwest braces for more severe weather and rising floodwaters, communities continue to grapple with displacement, property damage, and the uncertainty of what lies ahead.