Warwick got lucky Monday.

While the horizon to the north was black, broken by lightening spikes with downpours flooding roads and homes in Johnston, Providence and Cranston just a few miles away, apart from a few heavy drops, Warwick was untouched.

Mayor Frank Picozzi wasn’t counting on luck, however, with forecasts of more heavy downpours Wednesday and the possible effects of Hurricane Lee this weekend. Residents were thinking of preparations as well.

Betty Smith, who was answering the mayor’s office phone Tuesday afternoon, reported requests for sandbags and inquiries as to whether city crews would be cutting down trees threatening their property. Residents also wanted to know if city crews were out cleaning storm drains. Smith made it clear the city is not in the business of cutting trees on private property and that property owners are responsible for limbs overhanging their land from a neighbor.

“It seems like it’s going to miss us,” Picozzi said Tuesday, of Hurricane Lee, as he looked at twice daily advisories he started receiving this week from the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency. The printout showed the “cone “of Lee skirting the east coast and reaching north into Canada, or basically what television meteorologists have on air.

Picozzi got to experience Monday’s downpours that drenched communities north of Warwick with more than three inches of rain. Returning from a meeting in Pawtucket, traffic on Route 95 was reduced to a crawl of 15 MPH. He said visibility was limited by a curtain of water.

“You can’t design drains that can handle something like that,” he said.

Once the mayor reached Warwick, the roads were dry.

“It was spotty, we lucked out,” he said.