By the time the Des Moines River at Stratford had reached 13-point-9 feet late this (Tuesday) morning, the National Weather Service had downgraded its flood warning of Monday evening to a “minor flood advisory.” The river’s flood stage there is fourteen feet, but Boone County Emergency Manager Dave Morlan says there aren’t any incorporated towns located close to the river.

Except for flash flooding of small streams, Morlan says flooding doesn’t affect cities in Boone County. Transportation’s a different matter, though, and travel can be hampered since the river bisects the county, cutting it roughly in half. Sunday storms that dropped tornadoes on many parts of the Midwest didn’t produce any twister sightings in Boone County, but Morlan says that doesn’t mean they escaped damage.

He’s talked with Weather Service forecasters who tell him they had strong straight-line winds with a lot of little “micro-bursts” in his area, and while damage is spotty there’s a lot of it, all over the county.

Morlan works with first responders and often goes with them on emergency calls, helping monitor the situation and sometimes offering aid like recharged “air packs” that help firefighters breathe in heavy smoke. He says his other position as county Homeland Security Director lets him help local fire and law-enforcement agencies badly-needed help and support at times.