CLINTON - With a 60 percent chance of rain in the forecast for Friday, officials in Clinton said they would prefer to be one step ahead in emergency response procedures rather than one step behind.

That means they already have warned residents living near the Goose Creek Drainage District that the creek may not be able to handle any more water. The creek has receded since the heavy rains late Tuesday and early Wednesday, but officials are keeping a close watch on the water levels.

The city also has prepared an evacuation plan to be implemented if flooding forces residents out of their homes.

"I only know as much as the weather forecasters know," Clinton Public Works Director Steve Lobb said Thursday. "And I'm very concerned with what I hear. They say there is a possibility of severe storms (today) and Saturday, and that is likely to mean a lot more water.

"The ground is already saturated."

The evacuation plan unveiled Wednesday was developed by the city in cooperation with the American Red Cross, the DeWitt County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency and other area agencies. It called for a partial, voluntary evacuation of the affected area as the situation warrants it.

"We had a lot of rumors going around on Wednesday that we were going to initiate evacuation procedures," Clinton Mayor Ed Wollet said. "That wasn't the case, but what we have done is to implement some plans in case evacuation does become necessary."

The temporary shelter would be at Clinton High School. Red Cross officials would be on hand to assist those at the facility.

Residents most likely to be evacuated live in an area that begins on East North Street at the Old Depot and extends behind the YMCA and through Kiwanis Park. It continues south through the Cedarside subdivision on South Quincy.

The tentative evacuation area includes about 40 to 50 homes.

Wollet spoke with many of those residents on Wednesday, delivering notices that the evacuation shelter would be ready if needed.

While storms Wednesday night brought a host of funnel cloud sightings, mostly to the north of DeWitt County, only about a tenth of an inch of rain fell in the Clinton area. Thursday brought no rain at all.

That contrasted with the nearly 6 inches of rain Clinton received in less than 24 hours Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service at Lincoln.

The subsequent dry period allowed water that had been standing in streets and yards to drain.

All streets were clear on Thursday in Clinton, and DeWitt County Highway Engineer Craig Fink said there were only a few rural areas where problems remained.

"But that is likely to change with another round of rain," Fink said. "We're probably going to have a similar situation, and all we can do is put up signs as quickly as we can and warn people to be careful."

In Clinton, the street department isn't putting the barricades away yet, either.

"We're going to leave them in the areas where we had problems earlier this week," Lobb said. "That will save us time if we get into the same situation.

"It's really not safe to drive through an area with standing water because you can't see the road, and you never know, it could be washed away or something, and we just have to remind people to take an alternate route."