For a short while Saturday night,  Des Moines-area residents enjoyed the sudden temperature drop that provided relief to the day’s heat and humidity.  In an instant, the skies dumped on parts of Polk County with nearly 9 inches of rain in less than four hours.

The rush of water caused chaos in the area : A duplex exploded in Urbandale; flooding displaced dozens of people; businesses were flooded by water; and first-responders were out throughout the night rescuing people stranded in vehicles and flooded buildings.  The flooding resulted in the death of 66-year-old Larry Cotlar, a local sportscaster, who got out of his stalled van and was swept away by the fast-moving water.

The result was “catastrophic flooding” throughout Polk County, reported Kelsey Angle, a National Weather Service meteorologist.  Areas near Fourmile Creek and Walnut Creek sustained the most damage, said A.J. Mumm, director of Polk County Emergency Management. Both creeks set record-high crests.

In 2008, Des Moines and other parts of Iowa experienced historic flooding caused by the melting of the winter’s heavy snowfall and above average rain that fell beginning Memorial Day weekend. The weather caused flooding and levee breaches in Des Moines.