Water Pan Placement

Today I moved my water pan from the middle of the lower rack to directly above one of the gas heat entrances on the side.  Instead of the pan just putting off some steam it came near a rolling boil for the duration of my bake.  I had steam alright! :)  My loaf seemed to cook quicker too.  Is this normal?  It did achieve a nice color though a little dark on one side(I shoulda rotated it about 15 minutes in).  Looking forward to cutting into this tomorrow after it sits for a day.

somegeek