A solid day’s worth of rain — about 2.79 inches in Iola — has southeast Kansas under a flood watch, according to the National Weather Service in Wichita.
A couple more rounds of moderate to heavy rain are expected over the region by this evening, which could have area residents see an additional one to two inches in their rain gauges. The additional rainfall in concert with the one to three inches that fell overnight throughout southeast Kansas will likely result in areas of flooding, the National Weather Service said, especially at low-water crossings and other flood-prone areas.
The expected precipitation has NWS maintaining the flash flood watch until Wednesday morning for Allen, Chautauqua, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson counties.
Modest to significant rises in area rivers have been reported, including the Neosho River which was two feet above normal at about 6 o’clock this morning. With the expected rainfall today, the trend is expected to continue.
About 7.2 inches of precipitation has fallen in Iola in so far in 2012, on par with last year’s 6.29 inches by this point. In a typical year, 4.45 inches of rain is expected by the first day of spring.
