A Flash Flood Watch is in effect for the green areas indicated on the image (click to enlarge) that includes all but far northern areas of the Kansas City MetroRegion.

Breaking News- Weather & Commentary Covering The Kansas City-Missouri MetroRegion USA
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
408 PM CDT MON MAY 26 2008
.TIME.. ..EVENT.. ..CITY LOCATION.. ..LAT.LON.. ..DATE.. ..MAG... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ..SOURCE.. ..REMARKS..
0448 PM TORNADO 2 S APLINGTON 42.55N 92.88W 05/25/2008 GRUNDY IA NWS STORM SURVEY
*** 6 FATAL, 70 INJ ***
THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 2 MILES SOUTH OF APLINGTON- THEN TRACKED EAST THROUGH PARKERSBURG AND JUST NORTH OF NEW HARTFORD- THEN ACROSS NORTHERN BLACKHAWK COUNTY BEFORE LIFTING NEAR THE BLACKHAWK BUCHANAN COUNTY LINE.
THE PRELIMINARY SURVEY INDICATES POTENTIAL TORNADO INTENSITY OF GREATER THAN EF3- WITH POTENTIAL WINDS GREATER THAN 165 MPH.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS WILL BE ADDED TUESDAY ALONG WITH FINAL EF SCALE RATING RESULTS.
FATALITY AND INJURY TOTALS ARE PRELIMINARY.
&&
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...SEE PRODUCT DSMPNSDMX /PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT/. MORE INFORMATION WILL BE POSTED AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE THIS EVENING AT:
WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/DMX
FURTHER ASSESSMENT WILL BE CONDUCTED TUESDAY. ADDITIONAL DETAILS AND THE FINAL EF SCALE RATING WILL BE AVAILABLE BY LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON.
Survivors in Parkersburg-IA are cleaning up today after what may have been an EF-4 tornado slammed into that small north-central Iowa community of about 1900 people late Sunday afternoon.
Seven people reportedly died- 5 in Parkersburg and 2 in nearby New Harmony-IA.. Another tornado in Hugo-MN killed a child.
KCCI-TV in Des Moines has video of the tornado itself- as well as the incredible damage left by the storm.
From KCRG-TV's Web site:
"(WATERLOO) - The American Red Cross Hawkeye Chapter is assisting residents of Parkersburg, Dunkerton, Hazelton and New Hampton due to this evening’s tornados.
The American Red Cross has set up shelters in the following areas:
Aplington Middle School
Dunkerton Community School
Hazelton First Presbyterian Church
100 3rd St. Hazelton, IA
The Red Cross is also asking for time, money, and blood donations. For more information and to learn how you can donate, contact the Hawkeye Chapter at 319-234-6831 or visit www.hawkeyechapter.org.
The American Red Cross is also urging people in disaster areas to register as "safe and well" on their web site. That means family members from outside the affected areas can find out if you're okay and where you're staying.
Register as "Safe and Well" with American Red Cross by going to www.RedCross.org." 
This is from Des Moines TV station WHO - links to their news chopper footage- of damage produced by a tornado late Sunday afternoon.
WHO-TV reports "2 dead" and at least "14 injured" in Parkersburg.
Here in the Kansas City MetroRegion- Tornado Watch No. 369 is in effect until 4am Monday morning including Metro K.C. and virtually all the MetroRegion.
UPDATE: WHO-TV in Des Moines now reports "7 dead" in a massive- probable EF-4 tornado in Parkersburg-IA just after 5:30pm Sunday afternoon.
- the red or moderate risk area runs from about the K.C. Metro west and northwest into extreme northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas.
A rollover accident in southeastern Kansas City-MO has killed at least 2 people and injured several.

Gauges are located in JoCo or Overland Park (OP) KS unless otherwise indicated.
EDIT: 0950CDT --- Current Doppler radar image from NWS-Topeka-KS and
Central States visible satellite image from NASA._0915cdt.jpg)






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While the City of Leawood-KS has a problem with coyotes- KC-MO has a problem with vultures- the elected variety.
With fuel & food costs soaring daily- with the whole American economy in DEEP- DEEP trouble- KC-MO's City Council wants to increase our property tax a dime per every $100 valuation to fund the city's museums and other touristy attactions.
Hell- that's ONLY "$40 on a $200000 house"- according to tax cheerleaders at The KANSAS CITY STAR.
It's your Captain's opinion that Deb Hermann and the rest of the council who approves this incredible venture have taken leave of their senses.
ANYONE approving ANY tax INCREASE at this so-terrible time needs to take a drug AND sanity test!!!
What are you people thinking (or not)???
Read this AP article regarding a study done after that tragic bridge collapse last summer in Minneapolis.
The first major holiday of the warm season is next Monday- and as usual this time of year- rain & storms are in the forecast.
The best days for outdoor activities looks to be Saturday and especially Sunday. Those 2 days have the lesser chances of precipitation.
Thunderstorms are possible overnight tonight- again overnight tomorrow into Friday morning- and another good chance for storms- possibly severe- Monday (Memorial Day) afternoon and evening.
The latest graphic of 5-Day precipitation amounts from the NWS' Hydro Prediction Center (HPC) indicates some copious rain amounts near K.C. over the 5-day time period.
McCain's chief advisor is Charlie Black.
Black heads a political lobbying business.
Some of Charlie Black's lobbying firm clients?
1. Ferdinand Marcos, who executed thousands of his own citizens in the Philippines,
2. Zaire's Mobutu, who publicly hanged his opponents and looted his country's vast mineral wealth, and
3. Rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, a mass murderer, who covered Angola with landmines.
Black said in a TV news interview nobody cares about his firm's ties to tyrants and mass-murderers.
John McCain "stands by" his good buddy Charlie Black.
Do we really want someone who associates himself with such an immoral person as president?
If this guy's elected- it will prove once and for all how "moral" America really is.
Your serve- citizen....
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I can still remember the night of May 20- 1957 like it was last week.
I was only 4-1/2-years-old at the time when an F-5 tornado tore through Hickman Mills and Ruskin Heights in what is now south Kansas City-MO..
I spent most of that evening in a dining room coat closet while the voice of KC broadcasting icon Walt Bodine warned of the impending disaster.
Still- 39 people died in what is still the Kansas City MetroRegion's deadliest tornado.
That tornado left an indelible mark on it's survivors and it left me with a lifelong passion for weather and later on- the world of television news.
This rememberance is dedicated to the victims- as well as the survivors of The Ruskin Heights Tornado of May 20- 1957- 51 years ago today.
I wuz just messing around with some of our nature photos and came up with this idea.
More nature stuff to come as we're headed to the Kauffman Gardens here inabit.
Labels: Fun With Paint Shop
Municipalities won't allow you to send your "yard waste" (grass clippings- dead plants- tree limbs)- BIO-DEGRADABLE material- to a landfill- but will accept endless bags of NON BIO-DEGRADABLE materials (residential- industry trash).
Is it just me or is this picture royally screwed-up?
I've long joked America could use a Department of Logic- but would never find any so-qualified government employees to staff it.
Labels: More Convuluted Logic
Okay- I don't WATCH American Idol. I had no idea who David Cook was until it was smeared all over every local newscast.
Local citizen makes good ran longer than ANYTHING in the MetroRegion going or gone bad
Newscasts have become showcases for whatever network programming that station runs- or virtually ANY other fluff they can muster (see non-celebrity news).
The ONLY in-depth reporting is in the stations' "investigative" pieces which do NOT address America's deeper and larger concerns of loss of freedoms- politician corruption or corporations run amock.
I'm sure- no- I'M POSITIVE the future surviving Chinese historians will include America's news media as one reason America collapsed.
It was an orgy of violations in our little 'hood yesterday. Some bozo came through yesterday ticketing people for everything they could.
A wonderful thing with many folk around here on the brink of bankruptcy.
First off it was parking. We now exceed downtown in parking costs- thanks to STUPID-ASSED tickets!
My brother and a neighbor parks their car slightly off our busy residential street- to be specific- they put the car's wheels on the grassy area between the street & sidewalk to better facilitate traffic movement and avoid getting their cars dinged.
Call the cops after someone runs into your car- "make a walk-in report."
Ticket another neighbor for having his car in the grassy area next to his driveway. Unreal.
We have MOUNDS of trash in front of weed-overgrown houses throughout the 'hood.
There weren't ANY tickets around those places.
Little police protection- it takes them more than 15 minutes often to respond to what one would think are priority calls- like disturbances or speeders THROUGH the 'hood.
So they ticket bullshit.
After this little bit of civic coffer building at the expense of already overextended citizens- we're seriously looking into selling and moving OUT of KC-MO now.
This was the last straw- we've had it with KC-MO..
Until we do- we're going to oppose EVERY tax increase these elected bozos put in front of us. Not JUST oppose them- but start putting large signs of opposition on our property.
Shame- shame- SHAME on the city for adding stupid extra expense to people already overextended!!!
And when my brother has to go pay his ticket- I'll drop him off downtown and pick him up. Screw your outrageous parking fees you bozos!!!
The Kansas City Metro- along with most of the MetroRegion except western and northwestern areas- is included in a "slight risk" of severe thunderstorms later today and this Tuesday night.
More troublesome is an upgrade to a "moderate risk" of severe storms- and possibly more tornadoes- over last weekend's ravaged areas of southeastern Kansas- northeastern Oklahoma eastward into Missouri & Arkansas.
Please check your local radio- TV- NWS radio and/or here for updates on this increasing deteorating weather situation.
This blog was read by nearly 1500 people Sunday- nearly 2500 since Saturday- a new record.
Thank you and I pledge to continue to bring my fellow citizens in the Central States informative weather news and information.
My heart is with each and every person who suffered losses in the weekend tornadoes and PLEASE- when severe weather threatens- keep tabs on it!
Labels: A Reader "Thank You"