Looking for today’s weather in Cedar Rapids? View the latest temperature, Cedar Rapids weather, 7 day forecast for Eastern Iowa and beyond. Also view our latest weather stories below from The Gazette’s newsroom.
Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster declaration, opening up state assistance in responding to the disaster, as local officials closed roads, turned off power preemptively, called out volunteers to sandbag and dispatched rescue teams.
A “heat dome” over much of the Western United States has been driving temperatures much higher than usual for June.
Despite drier than typical conditions last week in Iowa, the abundant rainfall of preceding weeks has continued to percolate into deeper soil that can be important for crop growth, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
State Climatologist Justin Glisan said the state has had its sixth-wettest start to a year in the 152 years the data has been tracked.
Eight tornadoes touched down May 21 in Iowa, the strongest being a tornado packing up to 185 mph wind gusts and carving a 44-mile path from Page to Adair counties and severely damaging Greenfield.
The federal declaration comes as more than a third of Iowa’s counties are under state disaster proclamations after a week of dangerous and damaging weather.
Friday’s rain likely won’t worsen flooding in Eastern Iowa rivers because it was factored into flood warnings, the National Weather Service reported, but meteorologists will be watching the forecast for more rain on Sunday to see if that changes predicted river crests.
Heavy rain this week has led to flood warnings for portions of Eastern Iowa heading into the weekend. In Cedar Rapids, the rising river level is prompting the city to put precautionary measures in place.
The tornado on Tuesday ripped apart more than 100 of the town's homes in just one minute.
In Iowa, the average price of gas Thursday was nearly $3.33 a gallon, less than national average of $3.61 a gallon. In Linn County, the average price was $3.39 a gallon. That’s roughly 14 cents higher from a week ago, but similar to last year. In Johnson County, the average gas price was 12 cents cheaper.
Drought conditions in Iowa have improved to their least severe in about two years thanks to abundant rainfall in recent weeks. That abundant rainfall also has resulted in about 130 reports of wastewater bypasses since April.
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ request covers Adair, Polk, Story and Montgomery counties.
Crews moved methodically Wednesday through a small Iowa town devastated by a powerful tornado, searching through mounds of debris to be sure no victims remained buried in the rubble, but authorities would not say how many were killed or injured in the storm.
State officials confirmed multiple deaths from the storms that affected much of the state on Tuesday. An initial survey by the National Weather Service has rated the Greenfield tornado at least an EF3.
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