Heavy rains hit Iowa Sunday

Storms dumped rain on the southern portion of the state over the weekend, erasing many drought fears but raising flood waters. Early Saturday, a 24-year-old woman from Bonaparte died riding in a truck which tried to cross a flooded road. Sunday’s second round dumped lots of rain in the same area. National Weather Service meteorologist Miles Shumaker says wind speeds reached up to 70 miles per hour yesterday afternoon and evening. There was a lot of tree damage from the storm.Shumaker says there was one report of a tornado in Warren County. Shumaker says there was no damage from that tornado, so forecasters aren’t sure it was a twister. Shumaker says the biggest danger from yesterday’s storms was the water. He says parts of south central and southeast Iowa are having the most trouble with flooding.Shumaker says Hurricane Carlotta, which hit along southwest Mexico, helped spawn the rain system which marched across Iowa this weekend. Shelby County got more than three inches of rain in 45 minutes, prompting flash flooding that reached some car windows. Some corn and bean fields were wiped out by high winds and hail that was as big as golf balls.Weekend storms brought heavy rain and high winds to parts of southeast Iowa. Ottumwa got more than nine inches of rain. There were power outages and several road closings.