(Radio Iowa) – Heavy rains fell across Iowa overnight (Thursday into Friday), with Van Meter in Dallas County reporting nearly four inches. State Climatologist Justin Glisan says the moisture is moving up from the south.
“The Gulf of Mexico’s moisture gate is wide open. So we’re getting ample dew point flow from the Gulf into the upper Midwest, supplying moisture for any kind of system that comes through,” Glisan says. Glisan says the storms aren’t moving very much, and that’s why rain gauges are getting filled.
“It hasn’t really been that windy, so not a lot of steering flow out there. So when we do see these thunderstorms pop up, they generally just sit or they move slowly west to east over the state. And that’s where you start to see these higher totals stack up,” he says. Glisan says that leads to some flash flooding, and muddy fields, but the rain is also helping build a reserve after a drier than normal May.
“Anything we can bank now in case we do see warm and dry conditions as we get into the middle of summertime would be excellent,” Glisan says. Storms and rain are expected to continue throughout the weekend and into the early part of next week.
