As of late Wednesday evening, 5.28 inches of inches of rain had been recorded at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield, shattering the record of 1.97 inches for the date and ranking as the sixth-greatest amount of daily rain since record-keeping began in 1871, according to the National Weather Service.

The official rain total at the Council Bluffs airport was 2.39 inches, but officials said parts of the Bluffs received 6 to 8 inches of rain Wednesday morning. Much of the western and southern parts of the city had “extreme surface flooding.” In some areas, that meant water as high as the handles on cars.

Rainfall began in the pre-dawn hours, and by the morning commute, street flooding was well underway. Council Bluffs public schools, St. Albert Catholic schools and Heartland Christian School in the Bluffs closed for the day because of street flooding. Officials wanted to keep as much traffic off the streets as possible. Dozens of vehicles became stranded in the Bluffs as a result of people trying to get to work or run errands.

Fire officials said in a handful of cases Wednesday, the Council Bluffs Fire Department was called to retrieve people from their vehicles, and some families were evacuated from their homes. No injuries were reported.