DES MOINES, Iowa — A round of strong storms and heavy rain is expected tonight, which will ruin any outdoor plans and has prompted many communities to reschedule Beggars’ Night plans.

Scattered, light showers and a few storms are possible Wednesday morning and early afternoon, but there will be a good amount of dry time. Storms start to fire through the afternoon, moving into western Iowa by 2-4 PM. A line of storms will grow and intensify, likely reaching the I-35 corridor by 5 PM. Heavy rain and storms will continue through most of the evening, wrapping up by around midnight. Some overnight rain will be possible, but we should be dry by Thursday morning.

A level two out of five severe weather risk is in place for southern Iowa. This is because of a low but elevated tornado risk in this part of the state. Everywhere will also see the risk of strong to damaging wind gusts with evening storms, which is the biggest threat.

Heavy rain will also be possible with this round of storms. While it will be difficult to pinpoint exact totals, some locations could pick up 1-2″ of rain.

This won’t be the only rain chance in the extended forecast. Rain looks to return by Saturday, and heavy rain will also be possible on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (Election Day). In total, we could see several inches of rain by the middle of next week!