NWS graphic.
Many areas got some rainfall this weekend — but there was a wide variation in the amounts.
National Weather Service meteorologist, Brad Small, says the most rain fell in northern Iowa. “We had very heavy rainfall in north-central parts of the state, around Mason City southwest to Charles City, by Lake Mills, and they saw four to seven inches of rain up there,” he says.
Things were a bit more sporadic in central Iowa. “Some locations saw over an inch. And one of those places was the heart of Des Moines through downtown Des Moines and then the eastern sections,” Small says, “but you get not too far away from that, like up here in the office and Johnston there was only a few tenths, maybe a quarter inch or more in some spots. So that the heavy rains were not really widespread.” Small says that’s typical of the summer thunderstorms, they move through quickly and we don’t get long periods of rain.
One change following the storms is forecasters have revised the outlook that had the state moving back to the sweltering temperatures. “We’re gonna see more seasonal temperatures and humidity levels for the rest of the work week. So, nothing like we saw over the weekend,” he says. “Highs will be in the 80s, maybe 90s at times, but it will be with lower humidities and dew points. So there’s 70-plus dew points we saw over the weekend and even before that are not really in the forecast.”
He says it’ll nice stretch of weather this week compared to what had been projected. “It’s a welcome change in the forecast. Right now it looks like we’re still looking for mid-to-later portions of August, for better chances for above-normal temperatures. That’s about the 15th through the 21st,” he says.