Winnebago River rises to highest level of year in Mason City after heavy overnight rainfall

MASON CITY — Heavy rainfall overnight in north-central Iowa has resulted in the Winnebago River rising to its highest level of the year.

Here in downtown Mason City, we picked up just over an inch-and-a-third of rain as of 7 o’clock this morning, but the National Weather Service says radar estimates of rainfall show areas in and around Mason City as well as between Charles City and Cedar Falls that picked up between 4-5 inches with some larger areas of over 2.5 inches.

The Weather Service says some streams in those areas have already been responding with rapid rises. The river level for the Winnebago River at Mason City was at 5.95 feet at midnight this morning and rose above the “action stage” of 8 feet at 6 o’clock this morning.

The forecast for the river was for it to peak at 8.90 feet this afternoon and slowly fall throughout the rest of the day. Flood stage is 10 feet.