Spring rains arrived a day early as showers provided Lawrence and northeast Kansas with the first appreciable moisture in two months.

Lawrence had picked up 0.23 inches of rainfall as of 10 a.m. Monday, said Brandon Drake, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Topeka. Douglas County was expected to receive about another quarter inch of rain before the slow-moving system that arrived overnight clears the area late in the evening.

“I don’t think anyone is complaining about the rain,” he said. “It’s a gradual, gentle rain that should set up lawns for everything people want to do with them this spring.”

The 0.23 inches received by midmorning equaled the amount Lawrence received on Jan. 11, which was the most recorded this year, Drake said. Normally the Topeka area has received about 3.5 inches of rain for this time of year; the area is about 1.5 inches shy of that, he said.

Cloudy skies will stick around through Tuesday, which is the first official day of spring, according to the National Weather Service. It will soon start to feel like the season with temperatures warming to the high 70 or possibly low 80s by Friday and Saturday, Drake said.