A new state report shows Iowa got six inches more rain than usual in 2019.
It was the 12th-wettest year on record, with 41.5 inches of rain, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and partners reported.
“2019 was a very wet year, but so was 2018. The last two years combined were the wettest two years on record for the state,” said Tim Hall, DNR’s coordinator of hydrology resources said in a statement. “These conditions have resulted in higher than normal streamflows, and good shallow groundwater conditions going into the winter months.”
The rain and high water tables led to long-term and in places significant flooding in the Mississippi and Missouri river basins. Some spots were flooded most of the year, Hall reported.
Evaporation didn’t help much. DNR reports eight months of the year, it was colder than normal.
Several other state departments and the University of Iowa contribute to periodic reports on water issues in Iowa.
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