James and Mary Runyon hope Mother Nature is through picking on them.

Friday night, just four days after a torrential rainstorm flooded their southeastern Lawrence home, the elderly couple had another nasty encounter with the weather. During the height of yet another storm pummeling the area, a massive tree branch broke off, fell, and crushed the trunk of their car, which was parked in their front driveway.

Somehow, James Runyon found a way to smile and shrug it off.

“There’s not much you can do about it,” the 82-year-old retired farmer said Saturday as he looked over the damaged 1994 Mercury Sable.

The Runyons were standing at their front door, watching the storm and hoping the rising water level in the 2500 block of Maverick Lane wouldn’t come pouring into their home again. As it turned out, the water wasn’t the problem this time.

It wasn’t clear whether the limb that fell was struck by lightning or high winds caused it to break off, James Runyon said. Several smaller limbs fell throughout the neighborhood during the storm.

Later, during a lull in the storm, a relative of the Runyons’ brought over a chain saw and, with the help of several neighbors, the tree limb was removed.

“It’s been a pretty rough week,” James Runyon said Saturday.

Street flooding

James Runyon felt the blow from Mother Nature for a second time in a week after a tree limb fell onto the trunk of his car during Friday's storm. Runyon's house sustained flood damage during Monday's storms.

While the Runyons were especially affected by last week’s storms, there are plenty of Douglas County motorists who also are tired of the constant wind, rain and lightning.

For the third time in a week, streets and intersections throughout Lawrence flooded Friday night. Major problems occurred at the usual locations, such as 23rd Street and Ousdahl Road, 31st Street and Kasold Drive, 28th Street and Winterbrook Drive, Maple Street between North Third and North Seventh streets, and Lincoln Street between North Seventh and North Eighth streets. The North Lawrence railroad underpass also flooded and was impassable for a period.

“Most of the places we blocked off, we waited about 15 minutes and then opened them up,” said Tom Orzulak, street maintenance supervisor for the city of Lawrence. “They weren’t closed very long.”

Some locations, such as 28th and Winterbrook and sections of Lincoln and Maple, were closed most of the night, Orzulak said.

Rural Douglas County roads and highways also were flooded. U.S. Highway 59 was closed about 3 a.m. south of its junction with U.S. Highway 56 and a short distance into Franklin County, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. It was reopened by 9 a.m. Saturday.

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Douglas County Road 458 near Sibleyville, southeast of Lawrence, was closed for about a half-mile and also near East 1057 Road on 458. A section of County Road 1029 at U.S. 56 was closed for a short period.

“In 30 minutes the water was up and down,” said Mike Perkins, operations division manager for Douglas County.

All county roads were reopened by 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Perkins said.

Water rescues

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical crews helped several motorists stranded in high water. A total of six water rescues were conducted before midnight, according to fire dispatch logs. Crews also were called to assist Franklin County with a boat rescue at a house near Centropolis that had been surrounded by high water. Several rural roads in Franklin County were flooded and closed, sheriff’s dispatchers said.

The Wakarusa River flooded in some places as the water rose slightly above the 23 foot-flood stage before retreating, according to the National Weather Service.

Just before Friday night’s storm struck, the Runyons were more concerned about getting their own house cleaned up after an inch of water covered its floors during Monday’s storm.

“We’d pulled up the rugs and got it dried out,” James Runyon said.

Despite their bad luck with the weather, the Runyons said they weren’t thinking about moving.

“I don’t know that moving would make a lot of difference,” James Runyon said.