Since 1975 two major floods have occurred on Squaw Creek at Ames, Iowa. At the request of city officials, a study was conducted to develop a simplified flood prediction procedure that can be used to provide advanced flood warning to owners of private and commercial property located in the flood plain;HEC-1, a generalized hydrologic computer model developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was used to formulate a flood event model for the Squaw Creek Basin. This was used in a study of basin response to various spatial and temporal storm patterns to identify critical hydrometeorological conditions that cause flooding. The study revealed that, under moderately wet soil moisture conditions, only three inches of rainfall over this 227 square mile basin would be expected to cause substantial flooding at Ames. Heavy localized precipitation of three to four inches over two or more subbasins can also cause significant flooding if antecedent soil moisture levels are high. Direction and velocity of storm travel were also shown to have significant effects on the amplitude of the flood crest;Since community officials with relatively little training in hydrology or flood forecasting will be in charge of the proposed local flood prediction and warning program, a microcomputer-based flood simulation program was developed to assist with formulation and interpretation of flood forecasts. Development and testing of the flood simulation model are described, and recommendations for implementing a local flood prediction program are outlined.