Good stormy Tuesday, blog readers —
Our heat relief has arrived! It came crashing in this morning and kicked up some severe storms for the morning commute.
We saw a cluster of storms move through our metro counties between 7 and 9 a.m., prompting a severe thunderstorm watch to be issued.
A Severe Thunderstorm is quickly approaching KC & could produce wind gusts of up to 60-70 mph! Protect any loose items outside, if you can. The storms will likely get into the 435-loop in the next 15-30 minutes.@kshb41 pic.twitter.com/8U62mS9G0J
— Lindsey Anderson (@lnanderson) July 16, 2024
These storms produced strong and damaging winds, knocking out power and shaking loose tree limbs from Douglas County on the Kansas side to Saline County on the Missouri side.
Wind Reports
- 70 mph — North Lawrence
- 63 mph – Lawrence
- 60 mph — McLouth
- 60 mph — Platte City
Damage Reports (Select)
- Lansing — Downed power lines in the Xavier area
- Olathe — Tree limbs down
- Linwood — Large tree uprooted
- Lake Quivera — Multiple large tree limbs down on Quivira Drive between 51st and 55th streets
- Prairie Village — Downed tree limbs on wires near 75th and Roe
- Highland Acres area in Lenexa — Reported down tree limbs
- Westwood Hills — Downed tree limbs and wires near Francis Street
- Lake Waukomis — Downed large tree
- Henrietta — Downed wires near Walnut Street
Rain reports were around 0.25" to 0.5" on average with a few spots like Atchison, Kansas, measuring over 1" of rain.
And if you didn't see rain this morning, there is one more chance today to try and squeeze out some rain — you'll just want to be well south of Kansas City.
Tuesday afternoon-evening
The cold front that brought in storms this morning has stalled out just south of Kansas City.
We will stay quiet and even see some more sunshine through the bulk of the afternoon.
Expect the heat index to remain sticky as areas just north of this stalled boundary will feel like they are back at 100° quickly by 3-4 p.m. today.
As we head through the afternoon, we will watch another window for severe weather concerns open up around the same time.
Strong to severe storms are possible tonight after 3 p.m. and until just about 8 p.m. The main threats are strong and damaging winds and large hail.
Storm chances remain isolated in nature this afternoon and evening and should mainly impact areas like Bates and Henry counties before moving into the Ozarks and central Missouri.
But we can't rule out a stray shower or storm popping up around the boundary or closer to Interstate 70 on the Missouri side.
Here is a look at what radar could look like at 4 p.m. today.
Tonight-Friday
As we close the severe window around sunset tonight, there is a small chance for some showers to wrap in through north central Missouri into Wednesday morning. But overall, Wednesday will be our big heat relief day!
Heat and humidity will drop dramatically as north winds blow into the area. Highs the rest of the week are expected to stay well below average for this time of year.
Storm chances return this weekend.
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