MINOT (AP) - Stuffed animals and prizes were in puddles after an early-morning storm soaked the North Dakota State Fairgrounds.

The heavy rain Wednesday morning left several inches of standing water in such low-lying areas as the petting zoo, said Shannon Pearson, the fair's marketing director.The fairgrounds were mostly dry by morning, she said.

Workers cleared culverts of leaves and other debris to help with runoff, she said.

"It was nothing severe, and there wasn't any lasting damage by any means," Pearson said early in the afternoon. "Everything has pretty much dried out now."

The fair opens daily at 8 a.m. but carnival rides don't begin until noon. Pearson said the carnival rides were working at the usual time Wednesday.

Harlyn Wetzel, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Bismarck, said parts of Minot got about an inch of rain within 90 minutes, beginning at about 5:30 a.m.

The weather service issued a flood advisory for the city on Wednesday morning.

Central and northern parts of the state also got some rain early Wednesday "but nothing like Minot," Wetzel said. The weather service warned of flooding in Stutsman County, where the Jamestown airport reported nearly 1.6 inches of rain in an hour, and said drivers should watch for ponds along Interstate 94.

Minot's average rainfall is about a foot through July, and the recent soaker helped get the annual precipitation to near-normal levels, Wetzel said.

"It caught it up to normal for the month, but it's still about an inch below normal for the year," Wetzel said.

Pearson said many of the fairgoers are farmers who welcome the rain.

"Lots of participants at the fair are hoping for rain," she said. "We're fine with it, too - the region needs it.

"We're just hoping for sunny skies for here on out," Pearson said.

Wetzel said the forecast calls for a chance of thunderstorms today and clear skies through the weekend for Minot.

Pearson said attendance at the fair through Tuesday was 134,371, up about 2,000 from a year ago.