(The Associated Press circulated the following on May 14, 2010.)
DES MOINES, Iowa — Heavy rain across southern Iowa forced Amtrak on Thursday to detour its eastbound California Zephyr because of flooded tracks.
The passenger train, which travels between Emeryville, Calif., and Chicago, uses Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks. The heavy rain disrupted those tracks in the Ottumwa and Burlington areas, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.
When the California Zephyr arrived in Omaha on Thursday morning, about 60 passengers were bused to destinations in southern Iowa and Illinois, Magliari said. The train normally stops in Creston, Osceola, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa and Burlington, as well as Galesburg, Princeton and Naperville in Illinois.
From Omaha, the train took a route across central Iowa over Union Pacific tracks to Clinton and then onto Chicago.
The westbound Zephyr on Thursday night was back on its schedule across southern Iowa.
Widespread thunderstorms hit eastern and southeastern Iowa late Wednesday into Thursday. The National Weather Service said the storms dumped 1 to 3 inches of rain, with some communities seeing larger amounts.
More than 5 inches of rain hit Burlington, flooding streets across the city, police Lt. Steve Bell said. A street about two blocks from the Amtrak station in downtown was among those flooded.
He said no homes or businesses were flooded, but streets were covered with mud, rocks and other debris. All but one street had reopened by Thursday afternoon.
Rain started pouring late Wednesday and didn’t let up for hours, Bell said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much rain in one day,” he said.
Waterloo received a record amount of rainfall Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Waterloo recorded 2.4 inches; the previous record for May 12 was 1.2 inches set in 1964.
High water was flowing through the Walnut- and Four Mile-creek watersheds in Des Moines overnight but levels dropped Thursday, Des Moines Public Works Director Bill Stowe said. Stowe said the Des Moines area received 1½ to 2 inches overnight.
While the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers can take days to rise and fall, creeks can fill in a few hours. Some water did pool on city streets, but most had subsided by Thursday afternoon, city officials said.
However, high water closed George Flagg Parkway at 5 p.m. Thursday. The road is expected to reopen by Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service says the threat of severe weather remains low through the weekend but isolated scattered thunderstorms are possible Saturday night into Sunday morning. Another round of storms is possible Sunday in southern Iowa.