DES MOINES, Iowa — EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from July 28, 2022.
Strong storms moved through the middle of Iowa on Saturday night bringing periods of torrential rain, lightning, thunder, and occasional gusty winds and hail.
The National Weather Service in Des Moines issued a few severe thunderstorm warnings for storms producing severe hail or severe wind gusts of 60+ mph.
As of Sunday morning, light to moderate rain was still falling across parts of southern Iowa and northeast Iowa.
Additional thunderstorms are possible on Sunday evening and Sunday night, especially in northern Iowa. A few of those storms may produce severe wind or severe hail.
Through 8 a.m. Sunday, the Des Moines International Airport officially received 2.06" of rain.
Doppler radar estimates show widespread areas of 2-3" of rain over central Iowa, with the largest bullseye over the southern part of Dallas County and the northern part of Madison County, just west of the Des Moines metro region. Some areas received more than four inches of rain!
Here are a few official totals from observation sites and COOP observers:
- Earlham- 4.09"
- Gilbert- 3.99"
- Minburn- 3.54"
- West Ames- 3.28"
- Fort Dodge- 3.02"
- Granger- 2.96"
- Polk City- 2.78"
- Creston- 2.75"
- Dallas Center- 2.74"
- Luther- 2.74"
- Webster City- 2.73"
- Ames- 2.71"
- Zearing- 2.65"
- Ogden- 2.61"
- Grundy Center- 2.60"
- Van Meter- 2.50"
- Waukee- 2.44"
- Eagle Grove- 2.43"
- Eldora- 2.26"
- Cromwell- 2.25"
- Albion- 2.24"
- Barnum- 2.24"
- 3 miles west of Des Moines- 2.17"
- Windsor Heights- 2.17"
- Norwalk- 2.15"
- Saylorville- 2.15"
- Spring Hill- 2.11"
- Newton- 2.10"
- Nevada- 2.0"
- Laurens- 0.9"
Light rain through Sunday morning and afternoon will add to these totals some, but the numbers here account for the heaviest rain the region experienced Saturday evening and Saturday night.
Sunday night's thunderstorms will make the overall totals grow for some parts of the state, too. This is welcome news for Iowans still dealing with moderate to severe drought.
Until Saturday night's heavy rain event, the Des Moines airport had only received 1.93" of rain in August. The total is now up to 3.99" of rain.
Last Friday's severe thunderstorm that produced significant hail in parts of the metro dropped only a little rain at the airport in total.
August is typically a wet month for Des Moines, with the airport averaging 4.17" of rain.