More storms and rains are forecast tonight after severe weather that spawned tornadoes in southwest Iowa overnight. Bret Voorhees of Iowa’s Emergency Management Division says areas hit by the latest severe weather appear to have dodged any heavy damage.
Voorhees says while there was some damage, the good news is that damage was not major. He says most roads remain open, although there are some local roads closed by high water. Voorhees says they’ll continue monitoring the situation to see what happens today and tonight. Voorhees says there’s concern because there’s not much room left for more rain.
“Everything is full, and so that is the key,” Voorhees says. He says they’ve pre-deployed some pumps and sandbags to be prepared if more rain hits. Voorhees says Iowans should remain ready for the possibility of severe weather and flooding. He says the forecast is calling for heavy rains in western Iowa, then shifting to the east, and there’s more concern with the potential of several more days of rain.
The message for the public again is to pay attention to watches and warnings by the National Weather Service, especially flood warnings for low lying areas and “Just pay attention to what’s going on.” Portions of central, northeast, south central and southeast Iowa are under a flash flood watch through this evening and into Friday.
Some counties included in the watch are Grundy, Jasper, Marshall, Poweshiek, Tama, Black Hawk, Appanoose, Lucas, Mahaska, Marion, Monroe, Wayne, Davis and Wappello. For more information on watches and warnings, visit the National Weather Service’s website . For more on roads closed due to flooding, visit the Department of Transportation’s 511 website , or call 5-1-1. The D-O-T also has flood safety tips and other information for travelers on-line.