Is rain sometimes worth its weight in gold?
Well, maybe not, but sometimes we probably think that way. People in the Midwest would not be willing to pay one cent for any more rain at this time. Ottumwa, Iowa was drenched with an additional 3.17 inches in the last 24 hours and Quincy, Illinois 1 inch. NWS Des Moines warns that 1 to 3 inches of additional rain will aggravate the flash flooding situation in parts of Iowa today.
BACK HOME IN ALABAMA
We may have become overconfident in earlier weeks when everything was so lush and green. During a drought we forget how quickly we can change from being okay to badly needing rain again. Birmingham is in an island of rain surplus and as of this morning we were 2.57 inches above the average at Birmingham Airport. But look at these shortfalls!
8.92 inches below normal at Huntsville
6.05 at Anniston Airport
8.94 at Montgomery Airport
5.83 Tuscaloosa Airport
7.22 at Muscle Shoals Airport
Despite that, everyone is in much, much better shape than we were a year ago at this time. For example:
30.91 inches so far this year in Birmingham
11.74 a year ago today
19.17 ahead of last year
Muscle Shoals received 0.80 last night, but they are over 7 inches short. Mobile had some heavy rains earlier this season and went above normal and now they have drifted back to a shortfall of 1.32 inches.
Here is a complete roundup of rain reports around Alabama in the last 24 hours. We have used every source available to gather this list, including our 33/40 skywatchers, the NWS, TVA, Alabama Power, private weather stations and the CoCoRaHS Network.
0.92 Black Creek/Scrougeout (Vic Bell is jumping for joy.)
0.09 Weaver
0.12 Noccalula Falls
0.85 Coker
0.66 Hayden
0.05 Weaver (We get more than one report.)
0.04 Union Grove
0.28 Haleyville
0.34 South Pinson/Carson Red Hollow Road
0.28 Morris
0.60 Clay/Pinson (Womack Road)
0.30 Taylorville (and a wind gust of 70 mph)
0.25 Northport
0.41 Alabaster
0.16 Chelsea
0.28 Hueytown (near the high school)
0.50 South Hueytown
0.08 Albertville
0.60 Bankhead National Forest
0.36 Crossville
0.39 Ft. Payne Airport
0.80 Muscle Shoals Airport
0.65 Ashland
0.74 Oneonta
0.06 Sylacauga
0.03 Tuscaloosa Airport
0.06 Selma
0.02 Anniston Airport
0.55 Helena
0.02 Cordova
0.08 Dearmandville
0.59 Gadsden
0.65 Neely-Henry Dam (Ohatchee area)
1.42 A. F. Henry Lock and Dam
0.14 Holt
0.08 Demopolis Lock and Dam
2.10 6 miles south of Tuscumbia
0.89 1 mile SSW of Muscle Shoals
0.32 3 miles NNW of Ozark
1.30 Phil Campbell 6 WNW
0.06 Scottsboro
0.43 Grant 6 SW
0.27 Bessemer 9 South
1.13 Littleville (Colbert County)
0.72 7 west of downtown Mobile
0.38 Pell City 4 SE
1.73 1 mile SE of Oneonta
0.33 Vestavia Hills
2.20 Springville 7 South
1.17 Alabaster 2 North
1.15 Camden
0.66 5 miles east of Orange Beach
