Rain, rain should go away by this weekend.

Gunn Park was closed due to the rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. For public safety, it is usually shut down when precipitation reaches a certain level, City Manager Dave Martin said.(Ruth Campbell/Tribune)

Rain in the Fort Scott area is expected to move on by tonight, making way for a warm, sunny weekend.

A strong upper level low pressure system sitting across Texas slowly pushing east is the reason for the steady rain the past three days. "It keeps bringing moisture up from the Gulf. It will finally push east of us tomorrow night. We look to have a dry weekend with mostly sunny skies with highs in the 70s or maybe mid-to-upper 70s on Sunday ...," National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Wise said Wednesday.

Waters in the Marmaton River made it to flood stage -- 40 feet -- but did not go over and late Wednesday afternoon were receding, Bourbon County Emergency Manager Keith Jeffers said. He said anywhere from 3.5 to 5 inches of rain have fallen around the county, but he hasn't seen the official numbers yet.

"I know on the radio station this morning they announced at about 8 o'clock that it was 3.49 (inches) they had measured so far. I heard out by Uniontown yesterday somebody there had measured 4 1/4 and we had a report of 6 inches out by Xenia," Jeffers said.

He noted it's been just a couple of years since there has been this much rain. The rivers were coming up a little bit more than usual, he said, but they never made it to "major flood stage, so we were considered moderate flooding.

"I didn't hear any reports of water rescues, which is a good thing. People weren't driving into the water unnecessarily," Jeffers said.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, Jeffers said some low-water crossings, particularly near Garland, Slick Rock (245th Street and U.S. Highway 54 and Noble) and Pavy Ford (205th and Maple) were flooded.

"It's really our standard ones. It's to the point where most people know about them. I haven't been out on the northeast corner (of the county) north of Fulton, but there's usually a few that get blocked by overflow waters," he said.

The water flow was helped this year by the city of Fort Scott cleaning out storm drains that get stuck with leaves and tree branches. "A lot more of the waters was flowing through on an even pace," Jeffers said. "I really didn't see too many flooded intersections that stayed flooded ... (The city's) Public Works (department) did a great job of clearing out storm drains and getting things ready."

Gunn Park has been closed since Tuesday due to the precipitation. "We don't want people driving back there and getting in trouble," City Manager Dave Martin said. "We close it, especially when it (the water) gets to a certain level."

Assistant City Manager Susan Brown said how long the park stays closed depends on how quickly the water goes down. "And there may be debris we have to go down and clean up. We need the rain, but we're hoping we can get in there and open the park up as soon as possible," Brown said.

Jeffers noted he stayed in contact with business owners in the Belltown area and other spots prone to flooding in case the Marmaton kept rising. "But at 6 a.m. (Wednesday), the water started going down and even with the rain we've gotten, it's still going down," he said.

Those interested in keeping an eye on flood levels can visit the U.S. Geological Survey website and sign up for water alerts which can be received on their cell phones. Another place to visit is cocorahs.com, which stands for community-based rain, hail and snow monitors.