On June 27, 1975, the city of Ames and vicinity sustained severe flooding from Squaw creek and the south Skunk River. The storm which preceded the flood was net particularly outstanding in its intensity or duration. However, antecedent conditions plus the timing and direction of the storm were "ideally tuned" to cause the flood.
In terms of magnitude of discharge as well as of damages this was the most severe flood on record, with losses estimated by city and Iowa State University officials at over a million dollars. The most unfortunate loss involved the drowning of a young person.
The peak discharge at the Squaw Creek station, 206 mi2 (534 km2), was measured at 11,300 ft3/s (320 m3/s), which is 1.6 times the 100-year flood. The south Skunk River above the confluence with Squaw creek, 315 mi2 (816 km2), peaked at 5,330 ft3/s (151 m3). The recurrence interval of this discharge is 6.0 years. The peak discharge on the South Skunk River below the confluence with Squaw creek, 556 mi2 (1440 km2), was 14,700 ft3/s (416 m3/s), which is 1.1 times the 100-year flood.