Heavy rain drenches parts of Nebraska and Iowa (Reuters)

OMAHA, Neb (Reuters) – Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms overnight drenched parts of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, causing neighborhood flooding on Monday.

Torrential rainfall pummeled areas around Omaha, with two to four-and-a-half inches of water creating additional flooding in communities near the already swollen Missouri River.

In Council Bluffs, Iowa, several residents had to be rescued by National Guard personnel using high-water vehicles. Several structures in the area collapsed during flash flooding, and the National Guard rescued children and a driver from a stranded school bus, officials said.

Local flooding was receding, but more showers and thunderstorms could move through later in the day, said National Weather Service meteorologist Barbara Mayes.

Across the country in Pennsylvania, communities near State College and Harrisburg were cleaning up from two severe storms that swept through the region on Sunday, knocking down trees, causing power outages and ripping the facade off some downtown buildings, according to the Weather Service.

Heavy rain, hail and wind battered Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey on Sunday, said Weather Service meteorologist Valerie Meola.

The Philadelphia metropolitan area was drying out from a soggy night. While some parts of the city barely felt a drop, just a few miles away areas were hit with more than two inches of rain in a 24-hour period, she said.

This month will rank as the wettest August on record in the city with 13 inches of rainfall so far, Weather Service forecasters said.

In Whitehall Township, an Allentown suburb, wind and rain brought down tree limbs and power lines. Beth Hanna, a bakery manager, said she saw downed branches everywhere on her way to work.

"I'm talking big limbs here, like almost the size of a tree," she said.

Wind damage from the weekend storm caused minor damage to the commissary roof at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, spokesman Brett Kangas said.

In Monmouth County, New Jersey, some roads near the Manasquan River remained closed on Monday due to flooding, county spokeswoman Laura Kirkpatrick said.

In parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana this week temperatures will hover again in the low 100s with heat indexes climbing higher.

Parts of all four states are under heat advisories, according to the Weather Service.

Weather experts are keeping a close eye on Hurricane Irene, expected to strike the southeastern part of the country later this week.

Irene strengthened into the season's first hurricane while it slammed Puerto Rico on Monday, according to AccuWeather.com.

(Writing by Lauren Keiper; Additional reporting by David Hendee in Omaha, Kay Henderson in Iowa and Dave Warner in Philadelphia; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Jerry Norton)

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Tropical Storms, Heavy Rains Avoiding United States (ContributorNetwork)

Tropical storms and hurricanes in 2011 will be harbingers of good and bad things when and if they make landfall in the United States. There are severe droughts throughout the southern portion of the contiguous 48 states. Yet none of the named storms has made a dent in rainfall totals as of Sunday.

The National Hurricane Center predicted warmer than normal ocean temperatures in the Atlantic will have a higher-than-normal total of named storms and big hurricanes. Tropical Storm Don made landfall along the Texas-Mexico border but only brought an inch of rain or less to the area. The next system, Tropical Storm Emily, doused the Haiti and the Dominican Republic but then steered eastward of Florida and headed back out to sea.

By now, at least one hurricane usually forms by this time of year. Instead we've gotten just five tropical storms. The next two weeks will let forecasters know if their predictions will be true. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in late August. Another monster storm, Hurricane Hugo , came ashore in mid-September of 1989.

Experts predicted at least three major hurricanes, up to 18 named storms and as many as seven to 10 hurricanes. The Los Angeles Times reports the initial prediction of six to 10 hurricanes was recently raised by one. Apparently the weather pattern is ripe for storm formation, but the strong ridge of high pressure over the central United States may help spin hurricanes away from land.

Upper level air is the key to steering massive storms. They can help keep storms together or make them fall apart. If there is a huge dome of high and dry air dominating the atmosphere, a smaller low pressure system from the tropics may not be able to penetrate the large mass of air.

It's like a golf ball trying to move a bowling ball. It's not going to happen until the current system of heat moves away from the central United States in order to let moisture inland. The key to the shift will be the jet stream. Finally, some cooler air from Canada will make its way south by Aug. 10. The Weather Channel states the dome of hot air will retreat back to the southwest temporarily due to the shift and possibly bring some rain to parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

Unfortunately, Texas and Oklahoma will continue to bake. Tropical systems will be spun away from where moisture is needed most. Nothing will happen until the hot pattern completely dissipates, which may not occur until September. After that, get ready for some nasty hurricanes that might invade the southern United States.

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Floods, lightning kill 8 as heavy rains hit China (AP)

BEIJING – Floods and lightning killed at least eight people as heavy rains pounded southern China, destroying homes and blocking roads, official media said Saturday.

Flooding from this month's seasonal rains has already forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and left more than 170 dead or missing.

Two people died in the southern province of Guizhou after being struck by lightning, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Two others died after being washed away by floods Friday evening. Xinhua said four other people died but did not provide details.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said Friday that flooding and rains have killed 25 people, left 25 missing and forced about 671,200 from their homes since Monday.

Xinhua did not say whether the most recent fatalities were included in the 25.

The torrential rains are forecast to continue through the weekend.

Landslides crushed parts of a railway line in southwestern China on Thursday evening, stranding 5,000 passengers on four trains, railway officials said.

About 1,200 workers are continuing to clear tracks and make repairs along the Chengdu-Kunming railway line, which links the capitals of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, Xinhua said.

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