It's raining, but not pouring across Iowa on Christmas with record rainfall in Des Moines
It's raining — not pouring — in communities across Iowa on Christmas, with several areas reporting record totals.
Des Moines has surpassed its highest rainfall ever on Christmas Day, reporting 0.59 inches of rain, the National Weather Service reported Monday morning on X. The organization said the total broke the previous record of 0.57 inches of rain, which was recorded 141 years ago in 1882.
The highest total rainfall is in Lamoni, where 1.79 inches of rain has fallen in southwestern Iowa. Eastern and northeastern Iowa has stayed rather dry, with cities such as Cedar Rapids reporting around a tenth to two-tenths of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
Western Iowa communities such as Denison experienced light icing and snowfall. The icing and snowfall mainly affected partially covered roadways but were more common on elevated surfaces such as power lines, according to the National Weather Service.
Heavy rain impacts Iowa
The southwestern Iowa community of Audubon has been hit hard by rain on Christmas Day, receiving 1.6 inches as of 11 a.m. Corning reported some of the heavier amounts in the state, receiving 1.69 inches of rain so far. Centerville was also over an inch, with 1.1 inches of rain on Christmas Day. Estherville received 0.75 inches of rain yesterday on Christmas Eve.
🔴 Preliminary - 🎁 Unwrapping a new record rainfall for Des Moines, which so far today has recorded 0.59" of rain. This breaks the old daily record rainfall of 0.57" set 141 years ago in 1882. #iawx #iaclimate
— NWS Des Moines (@NWSDesMoines) December 25, 2023
A wet Christmas
Christmas day continues in Des Moines with a mix of weather conditions. Rain is expected mainly before 2 p.m. before temperatures drop around 5 p.m. with the possibility of high winds up to 20 miles per hour in the afternoon.
There are also additional reports of freezing rain and ice in western and northwestern Iowa.
Temperatures have varied throughout the state as well, with Des Moines tapping in at 53 degrees as of 11 a.m. while Sioux City and Council Bluffs each registered below-freezing temps at 30 degrees. Burlington in southeastern Iowa was registering one of the higher temps at 54 degrees.
More: At 188 weeks, Iowa's drought is the longest since the 1950s, state climatologist says
No white Christmas, drought continues
Though Iowa received much-needed rainfall on Christmas Eve, much of the state remains in a drought. Iowa has spent 188 consecutive weeks in drought conditions, the longest such stretch since the 1950s. Iowa Climatologist Justin Glisan last week said the expected rain would "by no means (be) a drought buster."
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said much of Iowa would likely need 8-10 inches of significant rain to pull itself out of the drought. Gilsan believes the state needs several months and perhaps a year's worth of above-average precipitation to reach normal levels.
Jay Stahl is an entertainment reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow him on Instagram or reach out at jstahl@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Rain falls across Iowa as Des Moines sees record Christmas Day totals
