Central Kansas was dowsed with up to five inches of rain over the weekend as thunderstorms raked the area through the night Saturday and into Sunday morning.

As day broke Sunday, several Barton County township roads remained covered with water, forcing road closures, including a stretch of West Barton County Road, Barton County Works Director Darren Williams said. Some had drained enough to be reopened.

Barricades remained in place on some roads, and a Barton County Road and Bridge Department truck hauling a trailer was observed hauling barricades west of Great Bend Sunday morning.

Elsewhere, there were flooded fields and ditches. Many farmsteads had yards filled with water.

Williams said Road and Bridge personnel also hauled sand to Pawnee Rock for sandbags to combat flooding there. “We went and helped them out.”

In the Pawnee Rock area, there was water over US 56, and traffic was being flagged, Sheriff Brian Bellendir said. There was also some minor flooding on the north side of K-96 at Albert.

Bellendir said they believe the flooding is coming from water n Ash Creek in Pawnee County making its way to the Arkansas River.

Both Williams and Bellendir said things are fine now, as long as the region doesn’t get hit again. According to the National Weather Service, they should be able to breathe easy for now.

The forecast calls for clear skies, lows in the 50s to 60s, and highs in the 70s and 80s through Thursday. However, rain returns to the outlook Friday with chances of thunderstorms up to 50 percent through Saturday.