The sky was overcast, rain fell periodically, and just about every kind of spring weather warning you could think of had been issued Sunday afternoon in the Lawrence area.

But that didn’t stop a few die-hard fishermen from standing or sitting on concrete ledges and rocky banks near the Bowersock Dam as they pursued their quest to haul big catfish out of the roiling Kansas River.

“We haven’t had much luck yet,” said a man who identified himself only as James. “All we caught was a little drum (fish).”

Sitting a few feet away was James’ friend, Scott Cassatt, McLouth, who was waiting for something to take hold of his line. Both men had been using worms for bait.

The river continued to flow over the dam at a fast clip, a condition that according to James and Cassatt often makes for good fishing. They pointed to a few other fishermen a short distance away who were standing near the tip of a concrete ledge below the Massachusetts Street bridge. They had made some catches, James and Cassatt said.

The fishing went on Sunday as Douglas County and much of Northeastern Kansas was placed first under a flood watch and then a flood warning. By 8 p.m., .67 inches of rain had fallen in Lawrence, in addition to the .86 inches that fell Saturday and .14 that fell Friday at Lawrence Municipal Airport, said Jennifer Schack, 6News meteorologist.

Water climbs at the Bowersock Dam north of Sixth and Massachusetts streets. By 8 p.m. Sunday, .67 inches of rain had fallen in Lawrence, but weekend rainfall was not enough to cause flooding despite a warning that was to last until 1:45 a.m. today.

The flood warning was to have expired at 1:45 a.m. today and the watch at noon today, according to the National Weather Service in Topeka. The watches also covered surrounding counties.

A tornado watch also was issued Sunday afternoon for the area. It was canceled for Douglas County, however, not long after a thunderstorm rolled through about 4 p.m.

That storm caused a tree to fall into 23rd Street near Barker Avenue, blocking some of the roadway until it was removed shortly after. No one was injured by the tree.

But despite the flood warnings, by late Sunday night there had been no reports of local flooding, officials with Douglas County Emergency Management said.

And despite it’s rough, fast-moving appearance, the river had actually gone down a foot from its nearly 16-foot level Saturday, National Weather Service records showed. Flood stage in Lawrence for the river is 18 feet. At Lecompton, the Kansas River was down to a little more than 12 feet. The flood stage is 17 feet.

Bodies of water were out of their banks elsewhere, however. The Marais des Cygnes River at Ottawa was about a foot over its flood level of 31 feet by evening. In Osage County, the Dragoon Creek was out of its banks in some areas.

A series of thunderstorms also moved through Lawrence early Sunday. Lightning during one of the storms struck a house where Dudley and Sally Larsen live at 4116 Goldfield. Several firefighters responded for Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical after the fire was reported at 4:30 a.m. The blaze occurred in the attic and caused $20,000 in damage before it was extinguished, a fire report said. No one was injured.

Rain caused several accidents along the entire length of the Kansas Turnpike but none were serious, officials said.

The rain was expected to continue at least through midday, Schack said.

“Then it looks like a pleasant week with temperatures in the lower 80s and lots of sunshine,” she said.