Rough driving/stalling

1995 escort gt hatchback automatic--118K miles. I was driving to work and went through some big puddles maybe a foot deep. The car ran fine for 5 minutes, then out of the blue--started running weird. It vibrated and popped and sputtered. It had a big loss in power. When stopped at a light--it sounded /fealt as if would stall--though has yet to. I tried reving as fast as I could--and the higher gear/faster I went was less of a problem--though I cant continue to drive 35/40 everywhere. My brother said it was probably the spark plugs needing to dry out. Was curious --if in fact that was problem--how long on avg--would one have to wait--or action needed to make happen? Again--that is--if was problem in first place. If not--ideas on how to identify other possible causes. Thanx in advance. -Tom