More heavy rains possible, though they may miss Wichita (VIDEO)

More dousings similar to Monday’s monsoon in the Wichita metropolitan area are possible this week, forecasters say, but computer models indicate they’ll miss the largest city in Kansas.

Southeast Kansas was forecast to receive rain early Wednesday with areas west and north of Wichita most vulnerable for the heavy rain on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

“The next few days are definitely going to be on the active side” for precipitation, National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Kleinsasser said.

Light rain fell off and on Tuesday in Wichita – a far cry from the tropical downpour that dumped more than 4 inches on parts of the city late Monday afternoon and evening.

Jabara Airport on the northeast side of the city logged 4.09 inches of rain Monday, according to the weather service. Bel Aire reported 4.41 inches, and an automated rain gauge near Mulvane showed 3.31 inches.

The official recording station next to Eisenhower National Airport in southwest Wichita logged 3.06 inches on Monday and another 0.70 inch as of 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Rainfall reports of 1 to 3 inches were common all across the city Monday, said Steve Smith, a meteorologist with the weather service.

“It was a really moist, tropical atmosphere,” Smith said.

As soon as the cold front arrived to interact with that moisture, the rains came – and continued through the evening commute.

“The showers and storms were very efficient at producing rainfall just because there was so much moisture in the atmosphere,” Smith said.

Dozens of vehicles became stranded on flooded streets, according to 911 calls collected by county officials. A total of 85 calls to 911 involving stalled vehicles or other traffic problems were logged during the weather event Monday night, according to Sedgwick County spokeswoman Brittany Clampitt.

Lightning strikes knocked out electricity to thousands of Westar Energy customers early Monday evening.

And a lightning strike is being blamed for a house fire near 13th and Webb early Monday evening, authorities said.

Residents of The Foliage, a gated community, “actually felt the ground shake” when the lightning bolt struck the house in the 1500 block of North Foliage, Fire Marshal Brad Crisp said.

The lightning bolt struck the 5,000-square-foot house and an adjacent tree at the same time, he said.

Arriving firefighters found “heavy fire and smoke coming from the attic and roof” on the north end of the house, Crisp said. Crews initially went inside to see whether there were any people or pets inside but eventually withdrew and worked to prevent the fire from spreading.

The couple that lives there was out of town on Monday, Crisp said.

Damage was estimated at $1 million, and Crisp described it as “a near total loss.”

There were numerous other lightning strikes from Monday’s storm, he said, and strikes are being blamed for downed power lines that triggered widespread power outages. But the house fire was the only significant damage caused by lightning from the storm.

Monday’s rainstorm hit the Wichita State University campus hard, especially in the student center, where the power was still out Tuesday morning, according to a post on Facebook by the university. Several other buildings reportedly experienced damage as well, including flooded basements and wet carpets.

What made Monday’s rainfall so intense, Kleinsasser said, was that the strong cold front pushing down from the north had so much moisture to tap into. Not only was there moist air from the Gulf of Mexico at the surface, there was moisture in the middle layers of the atmosphere from Mexico and the eastern Pacific.

When that happens, Kleinsasser said, “it’s almost like a tropical connection” that leads to “copious amounts of heavy rain.”

“It’s difficult to get a cold front down here in the middle of summer;” he said.

Even with the intense downpour, Monday’s rain did not set a rainfall record for July 6.

That distinction still stands with 1904, when 3.31 inches fell in one day.

“We just fell short,” Smith said. “It was close.”

Wichita and much of the state will get a break from the rain over the weekend, with clearing skies and south-southwest winds pushing temperatures into the 90s.

This story was originally published July 7, 2015 at 7:07 AM with the headline "More heavy rains possible, though they may miss Wichita (VIDEO)."