Christmas holiday brings much-needed rain to Eastern Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS — With a large swath of Eastern Iowa in extreme drought, the Christmas holidays brought a gift to thirsty cities and farms: steady rain.

In a 48-hour period ending at 8 a.m. Tuesday, most locations in Eastern Iowa received at least a half inch of rain — and some considerably more, according to reports to the National Weather Service.

Official readings in Cedar Rapids (.58 inches) and Iowa City (.60 inches) were on the low end of the scale. Reports to the weather service said that Williamsburg received 1.01 inches, and that some communities came close to that level — including Marion (.96 inches) and Solon (.93 inches). Others included Robins at .9 inches, North Liberty at .83 inches, Central City at .81 inches and Lisbon at .74 inches.

Heaver rainfalls were reported in Western and Central Iowa, including in Des Moines where the rain that fell on Christmas Day alone broke a record, the weather service said.

Iowa is entering its 189th week in a row of abnormally dry and drought conditions — making it the longest drought in the state since the 1950s. The most recent drought monitor, from last Thursday, shows large sections of Eastern Iowa — including all of Linn and Johnson counties — and southern Iowa in extreme drought conditions, the second worst category behind exceptional drought.

January is typically the driest month of the year in Iowa.