Over 5 inches of rain falls on a small area in Webster County

DAYTON, Iowa — Rain began falling around 4:30 p.m. Sunday near Dayton. There was rain line after rain line across the area just north of Dayton. Many rain gauges registered five or more inches, a few even had nine inches.

“Well, it was a blessing,” said John Williams, a farmer in the area north of Dayton. “We prayed about it, but we wanted it that way. It hit us pretty hard.”

The rains also caused problems on a few roads in Webster County. Construction was underway on McGuire Bend Road along the Des Moines River. New gravel and clay were dumped on the road, but it was nearly impossible to cross, so the road was closed. About a mile south, 330th washed out on the south shoulder, down a steep slope. The road was reduced to one lane.

“The Secondary Roads Department is out there today assessing the damage,” said Dylan Hagen, Webster County Emergency Management Coordinator. “There are a couple of road closures, so make sure you check their Facebook page. They’ll have updates on their road closures.”

Hagen experienced a major flood in June when the Des Moines River rose all the way up in Fort Dodge. There was no major damage during that flood.

“This rainfall has probably caused more damage to the roads than the flooding a few weeks ago when the river burst its banks,” Hagen said.

John Williams said visibility on his farm was significantly reduced because of the heavy rain.

“I think it just blew up over our area,” Williams said. “We had a rain gauge this morning, we had 5 1/2 inches.”