Rural highways and county roads in several areas of Vernon and Barton counties remained closed Monday after heavy rainfall -- the remnants of Hurricane Ike -- lingered in the area over the weekend. In these photos, flooding from the Marmaton causes the closing of a county road west of Nevada. No precipitation is expected today. --Lynn A. Wade/Daily Mail

Hurricane Ike was busy wreaking havoc in Texas, blasting ashore with its 110 mph winds on Saturday, reaching its long, wet fingers of moisture into Vernon County over the weekend, causing flooding and closing roads -- some of which remained closed Monday.

As of 2:15 Monday afternoon, two state highways in Vernon County, Route V north of Stotesbury and Route KK from Highway 43 to Route T, remained closed due to flooding. Some county roads along the Marmaton also were closed.

In all, 36 counties in Missouri were to remain under a flood advisory until 2 p.m., today. According to the National Weather Service, minor flooding could be expected throughout southwest Missouri in low lying areas, at low water crossings and along some major rivers.

In Vernon County, flood warnings are in effect for the Little Osage River near Horton, the Marmaton River near Nevada and the Osage River near Schell City.

The flood warning for the Little Osage has been extended through Thursday morning, Flood stage is 41 feet, and as of Monday afternoon, the Little Osage was at a height of 44.8 feet. Forecasters expect this river to crest early today and to fall below flood stage on Wednesday.

The Osage River was at 31.8 feet Monday evening, with flood stage at 30 feet. It is expected to continue to rise to near 32 feet by Thursday and fall below flood stage on Friday. At 32 feet, several county roads west of Schell City become impassable, and flooding impacts the Schell-Osage Conservation Area.

The Marmaton River was at 26.4 feet as of Monday evening and the area remains under a flood warning through Thursday evening. The water is expected to rise to near 26.8 feet by this evening and fall below flood stage some time Wednesday.

Flood stage for the Marmaton is 20 feet, and at 26 feet, moderate flooding occurs west of Nevada.

The NWS encourages motorists to keep in mind that roads along hilly terrain could have several areas of low water crossings that could be dangerous.

Motorists also should watch for patchy fog tonight.