photo by: Kim Callahan

The Kansas River is pictured on Wednesday, June 1, 2022.

Lawrence received another 2.25 inches of rain on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The latest storm brought Lawrence’s May rainfall total up to 8.12 inches, which exceeds the May average by 3.38 inches, said National Weather Service meteorologist Chelsea Picha in Topeka. The year-to-date rainfall total is 14.33 inches as of Wednesday afternoon, she said.

More rain is expected Saturday night into Sunday with a 60% chance for rain overnight, but it shouldn’t be as severe as the last storm, Picha said. Thursday and Friday are expected to be dry with highs in the 70s.

“We aren’t looking at anything too concerning,” Picha said.

The Bowersock Dam on the Kansas River in downtown Lawrence has temporarily stopped generating power due to the high flow, said Sarah Hill-Nelson, owner/operator of the Bowersock Mills and Power Company.

“When we get high flows like this we want to keep the debris out of the facility,” Hill-Nelson said.

The water is flowing at 30,000 cubic feet per second, which may look high but is a typical flow for this time of year and could get up to 80,000 CFS during the summer, Hill-Nelson said. Once the debris levels are clear, the dam is expected to resume generating power late Thursday, she said.

“We’re really happy that the city completed the dam maintenance over the winter,” Hill-Nelson said.

As previously reported by the Journal-World, the floor of the dam underwent extensive repairs over the winter, as the city is in the process of improving the adjacent riverfront area.

photo by: Kim Callahan

The Kansas River and the Bowersock Dam are pictured Wednesday, June 1, 2022.