KANSAS CITY'S BREAKING NEWS: Two-Alarm Fire In Midtown KC-MO

The fire is believed to be in a vacant building- at 27th Street and Troost.

The first alarm came in around 10:20pm- when firefighters arrived they found heavy fire and immediately ordered a 2nd-alarm.

Presently- at least 10 fire companies are battling the blaze- and it sounds as if perhaps crews are getting a handle on the fire as of this post.

-------

UPDATE: 0200CDT - Firefighters have mostly extinquished the stubborn fire in a large building- reportedly a "former bowling alley."

Several walls collapsed over the past 3 hours- but there were no reports of firefighter injuries as they had been pulled out of the structure.

Several companies of KC-KS firefighters were called to assist KC-MO Fire's battle.

________________

Two Years After Katrina- Much Of New Orleans Remains Destroyed

What will have to be another lasting legacy of the Dubya Administration's failure of all things international or domestic is the fact New Orleans- on the 2nd anniversary of the deadliest hurricane in more than a century- mostly remains in ruins.

Flooding-wise- hoping there isn't ANY hurricane before 2015- New Orleans at THAT time will "be better protected."

__________________

Melody Snyder Found Alive

News outlets are reporting that missing Melody Snyder of Belton was found this morning in the eastern K.C. suburb of Grain Valley.

Ms. Snyder is reported to be "fine" but there was no other details as to why she went missing for 2 days.

A big thank you and a puff of my cigar to reader "Beth" for the heads-up on this latest development.

_________________

Hurricane Dean Gave Mexico A Relative Break

Considering it was the 3rd strongest hurricane to make landfall in recorded history- Mexico escaped relatively lightly from Hurricane Dean.

Still- 8 died in Mexico- mainly from landslides and flooding with estimated "insured losses less than $300-million" in I assume American dollars- reports the AP.

Total dead from Hurricane Dean across the Carribean into Mexico is around 30 souls- as the Western World awaits the next innocent low pressure wave become a monster.

__________

Hot-Air Balloon Accident In Surrey-BC-Canada

Story HERE.

_______

Another Missing Female- Melody Snyder- In Belton-MO

First- it was Kara Kopetsky- the Belton High School teen who was last seen on May 4.

Now- another Belton woman is missing. (A Geoffrey tip 'o the topper to a fellow Curmudgeon Party member & Col. Gary!)

Missing is Melody R. Snyder- 38 years of age of Belton.

Melody was last seen about 6:30 pm Thursday evening- August 23-2007- in the area of 172nd and Montgall in west Belton (see/click on maps).

She was wearing a light blue or white t-shirt- dark blue shorts and white tennis shoes.

Mrs. Snyder is about 5' 3" tall, 125 lbs, hazel eyes and blonde hair.

If any one has information on the whereabouts of Melody Snyder please contact the Belton MO Police Department at 816-331-1500.

______________

The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Saturday, August 25, 2007

** THREE HURT BAD BY GUNSHOT IN BOTH KANSAS CITYS **

*** The first incident occurred just after 12:45am in a trailer park in south KC-KS- in the 7200 block of Forest Drive..

Once there- paramedics and police found a 30-year-old woman who had been shot twice- once in the back of the head and once in one of her knees. Her condition was critical as she was sped to a trauma center.

The undescribed assailant left the trailer park in a red Chevy Blazer.

***The next shooting occurs around 2:30am- and the 2 victims show up at MAST-EMS's headquarters on Eastwood Trafficway. Both victim's injuries were life-threatening.

The victims drove up to a MAST unit who was going off shift and just pulling into their garage area on Ararat Drive. One critically-injured male was "shot 3 times" says a MAST paramedic while on their way to a trauma center.

No suspect information yet available- but police were investigating an apparent crime scene in the apartment complex south of Eastwood Trafficway.

________________

<><><> OVERNIGHT WEATHER <><> <>

Skies were mostly cloudy - but dry- with low ceilings and scattered fog in some areas Saturday morning. Temperatures were comfortable to most- ranging from the low-middle 60's to the lower 70's in urban areas.

Once the low clouds ceilings rise- it looks like a pretty nice day- low winds- temps in the 80's- for the big airshow at Downtown Airport in KC-MO today.

Speaking of the airshow - Captain Greg and NBC41's SkyTracker will be on display- tell him Captain Spaulding said hello.

_________
Kansas City's Breaking News Leader - NBC41 ACTION NEWS.
_________

Citizen Letter From KC-MO's Mayor: "Notes From Funk's Front Porch" XII

Funk's Front Porch

24 August 2007

Dear Folks,

I dropped our daughter Tara off at the airport yesterday, so I don’t really have the heart to write much this week. Funk usually comes with us to the airport, but he had the business session to run, so he didn’t get to say a proper goodbye to our baby. Luckily, she’ll be back for her girlfriends wedding in September, so the wait won’t be as long as usual until we get to see her again.

We are proceeding with the plans for the Education Summit. Because we were so excited to get the education ball rolling, we were rushing to convene the summit in October. Fortunately, our heads took over for our heart and we’re now shooting for mid-January so that we can do it up right. A wonderful thing happened this week regarding the summit plans though. Funk testified in front of the School Board and they unanimously voted to approve the project. This is a very good sign. If everyone is working together to make our school system reflect the values of the community, we can only succeed in getting the job done. To my eyes, this can’t happen too soon as our children need us to make this work.

Another good thing happened this week, this time in the Legislative Session. The one percent sales tax was unanimously voted to be placed on the ballot in November. Funk said the city needs this tax to be renewed for ten years so that money can be spent on the neighborhoods. The way that the ballot will read is that at least thirty five percent of the tax collected will go towards capital improvements, to be divided equally between all six council districts, fifteen percent will go towards capital maintenance and the remaining fifty percent will go toward citywide projects.

Our other babe leaves for his freshman year of college on Tuesday. So, I’ll stop here and go help him pack while Funk welcomes a group of people at the Block headquarters.

Until next week,

In faith,
Gloria & Mark

You can respond to this newsletter at funksfrontporch@gmail.com.

Please help us by forwarding this email to as many people as you think might want to be more informed about their city government. They can sign up to receive the newsletter at http://www.blogger.com/www.funksfrontporch.com.

The Mayor’s top ten priorities:

1. Establishing a good working relationship with the Council
2. Getting the City’s finances in order
3. Making downtown work
4. Tending to our neighborhoods
5. Implementing the Housing Policy task force recommendations
6. Improving the perception and the reality of public education in Kansas City
7. Reducing Crime
8. Repairing our sewer systems
9. Establishing an excellent regional transit system, which includes light rail
10. Improving citizen satisfaction with City services.

______________

_________________

Plastic Shrink-Wrap Deadly Deutsche Bank Building For Lasting WTC Memorial

It's hell taking a 46-story building down that was damaged by a 110-story building free-falling near it. It's been nearly 6 years ago now since that happened.

The building- the former Deutsche Bank building- has to be dismantled floor by floor- since it is contaminated with a variety of nasty things.

The job was so complex it seems only 2 (1) companies bid- Slim and None. Slim hasn't been doing a very good job safety-wise.

Two 2 firefighters have died and nearly a dozen injured in 2 incidents in less than 7 days.

If I read the Associated Press article correctly- the Slim Company is about to be replaced by None on the job to remove the last visible legacy of September 11- 2001.

___________

KANSAS CITY MetroRegion-CENTRAL STATES WEATHER: NWS "High-Risk" Of Excessive Rainfall

Within the hour- the National WX Service's (NWS) Hydrometeorological Center (HPC) that deals with big precipitation events that cause big problems has issued their latest Excessive Rainfall forecast (see/click on image).

The area inside the red lines- extending from NE Kansas across the northern 1/4 of Missouri eastward to NW Ohio has a high risk of excessive rainfalls possibly causing both flash and general flooding.

This area includes the northern half of the MetroRegion and all of Kansas City Metro.

A moderate risk area covers the remainder of the western-southern and eastern MetroRegion.

Heres a larger-area current image of NWS radar from Pleasant Hill. Crossed lines on the image are indicated direction of storm travel (storm track).

Get ready people....

______________

Texas Black Gold Wants To Bulldoze Plaza Black Sheep

You have to read what a Texas oil-rich outfit named the "Wilson Development Group (WDG)" seeks in giftwrap with virtually the last viable (spelled: affordable) area of the Country Club Plaza ("The Plaza").

That post is HERE- titled "Developers have Southmoreland Neighborhood in a TIF"- courtesy of future City Council member Mark Forsythe on his blog "The Kansas City Post."

The area in question is generally north of Cleaver (Brush Creek) Boulevard- east of Main- along and south of 46th Street and west of Oak and Warwick.

Get this- WDG wants tax-increment financing or TIF (corporate welfare) to bulldoze the well-kept but affordable apartment buildings that cover this area and build a "luxury hotel" and other crap there.

This proposal SHOULD be 'Ha-Ha'ed off the Council's table but we'll see....

NEXT: A weather bulletin for all the Kansas City MetroRegion.

_______________________

The Benefit Of The Police Helicopter

At 11:20pm on a warm and humid late-summer Thursday night- a police spot of a stolen vehicle and brief ground chase has ended with possible suspects in custody at an apartment building near the corner of 38th Street & Garfield.

The vehicle with 2 suspects inside was first spotted by a Metro zone officer around 11:05pm in the area of Research Medical Center and that's when the chase starts.

After the suspects race through intersections against traffic lights- the ground pursuit is discontinued as the police consider public safety continuing the chase.

But by now- the KC-MO police aviation unit is above in one of it's helicopters- they watch the suspects continuing to disregard traffic laws- nearly striking 2 bicyclists the chopper's spotter says.

Within minutes- the aerial police force sees the 2 male suspects "bail" from the stolen vehicle at Garfield at 38th- and run into an apartment building there.

The helicopter made sure from their perch above no went went out any windows or back doors until ground forces arrived.

The officers on the ground secured that building and produced 2 possible suspects.

Since it's inception in the 1960's as one of the first municipal police helicopter patrol units in America- this is just one case of thousands that the KC-MO PD helicopter unit has benefited the safety of not only it's citizens- but those of our satellite cities as well.

The Captain salutes those cops in the sky....

___________

Flash-Flooding Rain In Southwest Kansas

I've been looking at weather radars- which beats the Chiefs for entertainment even on a clear day.

Around 8pm- a severe storm developed over Ford County Kansas- on or near Dodge City. For all intents and purposes- that storm has sat there to this post.

The images (click on to enlarge) are weather radar maps of indicated rainfall- the color key on the left of the image.
Look how the colors have changed- the purplish areas receiving an indicated 7 inches of rain in 2 hours. Needless to say- the NWS has flash flood warnings- as well as severe thunderstorm warnings- in effect for Ford County and Dodge City.
Those kind of rainfalls are possible aross Kansas- over to the east of the Kansas City MetroRegion over the next 24-36 hours....

Oh- if you're on broadband- got a local area radar loop that's pretty definative HERE- but you have to refresh it manually.

______________

Dubya's Visit Costs Some Kansas Citians Dearly

There was NO public announcement when the Secret Service wanted certain parking areas around where Dubya was staying cleared of parked cars.

So on short notice with the KC-MO Police claiming "we contacted as many (parked car owners) as we could"- the police towed away people's cars they couldn't contact.

It will cost those people nearly $500 to get their cars back too.

This is- to try and keep my decorum here- F-ING outrageous!

The KC-MO police should NOT charge the vehicle's owners and instead should BILL the U.S. Government- a.k.a. the Dubya Administration- for those towing and storage costs of citizen's vehicles.

This guy's "visits" are a sham anyway. There is no uninvited public contact other than his loyal butt-kissers and other poor folks ignorant of his actions.

I'm off to watch Skilling- screw this crap...

______________

KC-MO Council Puts Off Vote To Overturn Light Rail Plan

As the snowball of voter discontent grows with politicians undoing voter wishes- the KC-MO City Council has put off a vote on whether to re-submit the light rail plan voters already approved up for another vote (KCLightrail-com).

Perhaps- and wisely- the councilpersons have decided to wait until a good alternative light rail plan can be offered voters- one that makes sense and is doable.

I shall stay locked into this situation as it unfolds over the next few months- and the READER POLL over to the right on this site will be extended through next February so you- the reader/voter- can weigh in.

______________

KANSAS CITY MetroRegion-CENTRAL STATES WEATHER: Excessive Rainfall Possible IA-NE-KS-MO

As you can see by the map image- there's a strong possiblity for excessive rainfall- possibly creating flash-flooding and general flooding in the northern Kansas City MetroRegion (area within 50 miles of Downtown KC-MO).

The highest chance of this rainfall is outlined in red as a "high risk"- and that area is just north of the MetroRegion's northern boundary.

The Captain will be up all night with that latest right here....

________________

I Don't Like George Brett Anymore

And I've never liked Carl Peterson anyway- these are two of the kisser-butts that smiled as Dubya tied up Kansas City during morning rush Wednesday morning to screw people out of THEIR morning breakfast in Riverside.

I had already given even more distance to Peterson after he had Dubya visit Cheap's training camp a few years ago.
No wonder the Cheaps ain't worth a crap on the field since.

But now the man I called MISTER K.C. Baseball- George Brett- has gone over to the Dark Side.

If Brett thinks Dubya's so wonderful- the absolutely WORST president in my blink-of-an-eye-in-The-Universe existence- I don't think that much of Brett anymore. That simple.

Great ball player- lousy judge of people (one of Brett's best friends is Rush Limburger too- HURL! ).

To Dubya: Why don't you either stay in Washington or on your bleeping ranch and quit making life miserable for commuters in the cities you darken with your visits?

Come on January 2009!!!
_______________________

KANSAS CITY MetroRegion-CENTRAL STATES WEATHER: Severe Thunderstorm Watch No. 644 - IA-NE-KS-MO

Severe Thunderstorm Watch No. 644 is in effect until Midnight for the far north and northwestern counties in the K.C. MetroRegion and included St. Joseph- Chillicothe-MO and Atchison-KS..

Here is the current MetroRegion weather radar picture. Activity is generally moving east to northeast.
ST Watch No. 644 is one of several watches covering the Central States to the Northeast U.S..

______________

Today's KC-MO Council Meeting Crucial For Light Rail Plan

Supposively- today's 3pm meeting in the City Council chambers atop America's Top-2 tallest City Hall there will be a vote taken whether to put the voter-approved light rail initiative up to voters again in November or next February.

Not yet known is if this vote has an alternative plan in place- can have a plan in place when final ballot language is necessary- or has no plan and no intent to present one.

I would think if the latter option is presented- the Mayor and City Council are going to - er - "irk" more than a few voters.
(Please vote your preference in the poll on the right)

Flawed as it was- the Clay Chastain light rail plan needed so many registered voters on the petitions to bring the subject of light rail to a vote in Kansas City-MO.

When that requirement was met- the initiative then needed a majority of votes from the election to pass- which it did.

If Kansas City can afford new arenas and corporate welfare even to prefessional sports teams- their leaders can also find a plan- and a way to implement it before today's babies die of old age.

____________

KANSAS CITY MetroRegion-CENTRAL STATES WEATHER: "Slight Risk" Of Severe Storms Today

The SPC in Norman-OK has the entire K.C. MetroRegion as well as the middle Central States under a "slight risk" of severe thunderstorms today into Friday morning.

_________________

Really Stupid (Car) Commercials

Probably a tie- but the save the greenback commercial and the spot where the car keys fall from the sky rank as two of the STUPIDEST commercials ever made.

Any time any one of those two spots come on I either change the channel or flat turn the TV off.

Why do Americans buy crap from people who insult their intelligence? Are we this far gone now?

__________________

IMAGE: Street Flooding At 75th Street And Metcalf

KANSAS CITY'S WEATHER: Severe Storm Inside The K.C. Metro

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for NW Jackson County and southeastern Clay County Mo until 4:45pm..

A Late Summer Sunset Over Vancouver Isle BC

(A tip 'o the topper to the kat at www.katcam.ca in Vancouver- BC- Canada)

________________

Increase In College Housing Fires

The Consumer Product Safety Commission warns the college-bound against overloading room electrical systems and watch candles and smoking- lest-wise you burn your careless butt up.

Also watch for unlocked & dark high-voltage rooms on your campus- as discovered the hard way at Purdue.

______________

Military Helicopter Crash Kills 14 Americans In Iraq

An American military troop helicopter has crashed in northern Iraq- killing all 14 people on board. The AP says the military says the chopper had "a mechanical malfunction"- enemy fire did not bring the bird down.

This raises the American death toll in Iraq to 3721.

_______________

Dubya Spins History On It's Head - OMG Kansas City Dateline

The Associated Press reports G.W. Bush said: "The defense strategy that refused to hand the South Koreans over to a totalitarian neighbor helped raise up an Asian Tiger that is a model for developing countries across the world, including the Middle East."

The Korean War was a United Nations venture- we were also asked there by the "free" South Korean government. It was Commie vs. non-Commie- America and the UN forces were not fighting other South Koreans.

Vietnam speaks for itself but they're at peace- now that we left.

The liberation of the Chinese from the Japanese in World War-II is the only "model" one might use- but that war WAS America's Shining Moment and any attempt to compare any facet of that endeavor to Iraq gets you an immediate breathalyzer and drug test...

Another loco- er- locAL blogger who uses more jalepeno in his verbage than I - Hip Suburban White Guy- has a widget showing the days left of Dubya's cloud over America- (GRANDPA: "Unless the Democrats impeach the son of a...." (NELSON: "Ha-ha") to paraphrase Cher- "If I Could Turn Ahead Time...."

_______________

Special Topic On "Coast To Coast"

(CUE INTRO BUMPER: THE DOORS - THE END)

Good morning everybody- I'm Chuck Noory.

We've just learned from government sources there are some highly unusual things going on in the Gulf of Mexico right now.

We've obtained a satellite picture from NASA- it's on the Website- and it clearly shows what they're talking about.

There's a giant man-o'-war or jellyfish about to strike western Cuba.

And a giant donut threatens to flatten the eastern Mexico Gulf coast unless it becomes waterlogged and falls apart...

We won't begin to tell you what it all means in a moment- after these messages

(CUE FADE BUMPER: SKEETER DAVIS - END OF THE WORLD) ...

BFG




_____________________

Hurricane Dean 3rd Most Intense Storm In Recorded History

Just behind the famed U.S. Labor Day hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Gilbert in 1988- Dean will stand- at least for now- as the 3rd lowest barometric pressure in a hurricane as it made significant landfall at 906 millibars (mb).

Dean has made his way back out over water- in the Bay of Campeche- now heading for the east coast of Mexico (click on image for latest satellite pix). The storm is forecast to re-intensify to a Category 3 before 2nd and final landfall.

Except for reports of great surf along the South Padre Islands- Texas won't feel any effects from Dean as he's forecast to go well into Mexico.

_____________________

American Economy In Deep Doo-Doo: Foreclosures Jump 93 Percent

Home foreclosures have reportedly jumped 93% over July 2006. The total is even 9% higher than foreclosures reported in June.

Dubya says no Federal relief to homeowners- but how many more millions will the Federal Reserve pump into the rich boys pool?

Speaking of Dubya- he darkens Kansas City's skies tomorrow....

_________________

Michael Vick Should Be Banned From NFL

The Atlanta Falcons football player has cashiered himself as far as his American pro football career is concerned.

IF the NFL does NOT ban Vick from playing again- my days of watching NFL football in any way shape or form are over.

Food for thought Commissioner....

_________________

New Polls Added - Hurricane Dean Observations

I decided why the heck should Iowa and other states get the jump- there's a Capt. Spaulding caucus poll for the 2 interchangable political parties if you look over to the right.

These polls run through next year's convention times- when I'll hang those results on the wall for all to see forever then run a poll on the 2 interchangable candidates as well as select alternate party candidates.

I'm kind of a poll freak- so feel free to vote on anything that I may frequently add for you- the reader- to weigh in on.

Dean is about halfway inland over Mexico's Yucatan- "down" to a Category-3. Damage but no word on deaths and injuries reported around the biggest affected city of Chetumal.

_____________

Death Toll In Central States Flooding Now At 20

The death toll continues to rise in Central States flooding- according to the latest press reports.

Fourteen people died in flash floods from the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin- 8 in Texas and 6 in Oklahoma- where the storm mysteriously again re-intensified into a tropical storm west of Oklahoma City early Sunday morning.

In the northern Central States- intense and repeat thunderstorms produced devastating flash-flooding in south-central and southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin. Six died in Minnesota and 2 small towns heavily damaged in Wisconsin. Rescuers search for the missing male driver of a car swept off a creek bridge northwest of Winona.

Severe thunderstorms struck eastern Nebraska last night with wind gusts as high as 82 m.p.h near Omaha.

More severe thunderstorms- with possible flash-flooding rains- are possible later today and tonight over parts of Iowa- Nebraska and Kansas.

_________________

Number of Americans Turning To Legal Dope Doubled in 8 Years

It sure explains a few things- like election results.

The report is the number of Americans using pain killers doubled between 1997 and 2005- according to the AP story. Kind of odd that run on narcotics spans the administrations of Presidents Lame & Lamer.

No doubt that number has trippled from 2005 to August 21, 2007...

__________

Hurricane Dean Update

Category 5 Hurricane Dean is about to make landfall east of Chetumal- Mexico- at the base of the Yucatan peninsula just north of the border with the nation of Belize on the map.

Dean's winds are around 165 m.p.h. with gusts to 200 m.p.h.. Coastal areas of the Yucatan as seen on the map will see storm surges ranging up to 30 feet closest to eyewall landfall. Tulum and Cancun will see lower yet still significant storm surges.

Dean continues on a west-northwest course at around 20 m.p.h. and will weaken over Yucatan.

_________________

KANSAS CITY'S WEATHER: Severe Storm Watch No. 625 Cancelled

Well- another bust for rain in the big city- much less the threat of severe thunderstorms the NWS said were possible until 2am. All but Caldwell county MO are clear of the storm watch.

Still of chance of some showers and storms popping up through dawn - but no severe storms expected.

_____________

Last Reported Victim Of Minneapolis Bridge Collapse Found

The remains of construction worker Greg Jolstad- last reported missing person in the August 1 collapse- was located just after 6pm Monday evening.

This leaves at 13- the number of unlucky souls killed- on the nearly 2000 feet of collapsed Interstate span.

Full debris removal will now proceed at the site with hope no unaccounted-for bodies will be found.

_________________

Erin Almost Became A Hurricane Over Oklahoma

I was watching Erin's rapid intensification in awe here last Sunday morning.
The storm's center had become completely wrapped in moderate to heavy rain- and for several hours Erin even had an eye west of Oklahoma City.

The following is a witness account- a fellow 'storm chaser'- Rocky Rascovich- who was underneath Erin that night...

"I think I may have witnessed one of the most unusual weather events in recent time... right here at my farm in Piedmont, OK.

The remnants of T.S Erin, (which if you remember was downgraded to a depression last Wednesday morning just after it crossed the TX. coast near Corpus Christie..then spun itself through the hill country, then on toward Childress yesterday, still, the circulation intact but with winds generally 25mph or less)... decided, quite magically through the ever mysterious processes of our atmosphere.. to rapidly increase in strength starting last evening. Several tornado reports came in from SW Okla. then around midnight, the wind gradually started picking up here at the farm. Probably around 10-20mph from the east. Lightning was flickering frequently across the southern and western horizons. We had a few bands of rain come through earlier starting in the mid afternoon, infact I saw one storm come over downtown OKC that had exhibited some nice banding and inflow cloud spikes in the mid levels at around 5pm.

Cutting to the "chase", the real action got underway around 1:30am with considerable cg activity near the house along with 15-30mph winds that backed more from SE to E. At around 3am, I was in bed and Dee alerted me that a TOR warning was issued for Canadian County (my home county west of OKC). At that time, winds still weren't that bad but were increasing and cg activity was ramping up again.

A short time later, maybe around 3:15, I could hear my skylights in my bathroom whistling and lots of commotion going on, I got up... naturally, and lo and behold, it was mayhem happening, winds sustained at least 50mph, gusts over 60 right out of the east, and a profuse amount of rain wildly whipping by. Lightning activity was still there but was happening much less frequently.

This continued unabated and actually increased as the minutes went by. Between 4 and 4:45 was the peak of the storm. Winds were rarely less than 40mph, most of the time sustained at least around 50-55, peak gusts I estimated was around 65mph, not out of the question, 70. Wind direction for the most part was close to due east, maybe a little ENE at times. Rain was coming down aprox. 2-3"/hr

Starting around 4:45am, winds suddenly abated to around 20mph or so but a couple of times, a period of a minute or two, winds would suddenly increase to around 40-45mph out of the E/ESE. Interestingly, the gusts were not accompanied by any increase of rain, when the sudden wind surges hit, the rain at that time was generally light.

At 5am, our winds came down to less than 15mph, the rain temporarily lessened to a drizzle, we were in the "eye" of this storm... I was glued to KWTV ch. 9 (other channels were not coming in)... my satellite TV was out and the internet went down, so I was only able to see the radar through the tv. I soon after went back to bed, awoke briefly around 6:30 to strong S or SW winds and rain again... and a fair amount of lightning. Conditions gradually improved after 7am.

To me, this was a shock and awe moment, trying to figure out how this storm could actually strengthen... close to 72 hours after landfall, way up here in Okla. My guess is that it tapped into a theta E rich low level jet that was juxtaposed perfectly to feed into the remnant centre of the storm, thus, gave it that boost.
Temps and dewpoints were already reminiscent of that of the tropics to begin with, so it had that to feed off of too.

Despite my lack of the more indepth knowledge that you may have, I'm extremely interested in reading what perpetrated the sudden resurgence of strength, how often this type of phenomenon occurs and other historical accounts of similar incidents.

This sure has been one crazy year for weather here in Oklahoma! "

______________

KANSAS CITY'S WEATHER: Watch Update And Radar Pic

A severe thunderstorm watch continues for Metro Kansas City- Topeka and St. Joseph areas until 2am.

As you can see by the radar image- the strongest storms are well north of St. Joseph- and the activity west- northwest of Topeka- the activity that would at least initially affect K.C.- has shown a general decrease in intensities.More updates as needed here....

______________________

KANSAS CITY MetroRegion WEATHER: Severe Thunderstorm Watch In Effect

The SPC has all but the eastern and southern parts of the MetroRegion under Severe Thunderstorm Watch No. 625 until 2am Tuesday morning.

All of Metro Kansas City is included- as well as Lawrence- Topeka and St. Joseph.

_____________________

KANSAS CITY'S BREAKING NEWS: Three KC-MO Firefighters Hit On I-435

Three KC-MO firefighters- reportedly "helping a woman on I-435 & Winner Road were struck by a vehicle" in the past 30 minutes.

At least one firefighter was reported by MAST paramedics to be in critical condition - injured have been transported to St. Luke's- Plaza- Truman Med Center-West and Liberty Hospital in Liberty.

One "34-year-old" firefighter was reported "completely run over" by the car- the woman who firefighters were helping- "5 months pregnant" was also transported in serious condition.

Another firefighter reportedly "had the vehicle on top of him."

No word on the KC-MO fire companies who were affected.

----------

UPDATE - 0030 CDT Tuesday- August 21...

It has been reported all 3 firefighters and the pregnant woman injured in Monday evening's incident on I-435 near Winner Road will recover from their injuries.

The woman had lost a wheel on her car as she was travelling northbound and had crashed into the median guard cable. Firefighters from Pumper Company 23 as well as 2 other fire companies responded.

Police report a male driver of a full-sized white S.U.V. disregarded a MODoT freeway patrol truck's large warning flasher and plowed into the firefighters who had the woman out of the car- on the ground on a backboard. The vehicle ended up on top of at least 2 of the firefighters from 23's- striking the other company member.

The KC-MO police have cited the SUV driver (moronic operation of a motor vehicle?).

______________________

Nuclear Facility Secrecy About Near "Uncontrollable Nuclear Reaction" In Tennessee

It's a wonderful thing not that our government is SO concerned about security- they almost blew us all us last year.

From the AP article regarding the event that could have led to one last bright light:
"Some 35 liters, or just over 9 gallons, of highly enriched uranium solution leaked from a transfer line into a protected glovebox and spilled onto the floor. The leak was discovered when a supervisor saw a yellow liquid "running into a hallway" from under a door, according to one document.

The commission said there were two areas, the glovebox and an old elevator shaft, where the solution potentially could have collected in such a way to cause an uncontrolled nuclear reaction."

Great news- ain't it???

_______________

5pm Hurricane Dean Advisory - Satellite Pix

Dean is still a Category 4 hurricane- nearing the Mexico Yucatan peninsula.

NOTE: CLICK ON ALL IMAGES ON THIS SITE TO ENLARGE.

___________

Latest NHC Hurricane Dean Advisory/Satellite Pix

Dean- responsible for at least 8 deaths already across the Carribean- is now nearly a Category 5 hurricane- and heading for Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.The image is satellite measurement of water vapor- and depicts a very well-organized and major hurricane in the western Carribean- now past Jamaica.

___________

Would-Be Copper Thieves Cause Cable TV Outage

Now we know why virtually every local station- except 2- was off the KC-MO cable television system early Sunday morning.

According to a story on the KSHB Action41 News Web site- unknown person or persons cut a Time-Warner fiber-optic line at 63rd Street & Lewis. That line feeds the signals of the 8 Kansas City TV stations to T-W's main office at 65th Street & Winchester.

Channels 9 and 29 weren't affected- wonder if it's because KMBC/KCWE's new digs are right across the street from T-W?

Police and T-W officials speculated thieves were seeking copper when they cut the cable-looking fiber-optics. The "expensive" full repair to the cut line is scheduled today.

I don't know when full cable service was restored- I went to bed. g

_________________

Victim 12 Found At Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

Another victim was found Sunday at the site of the I-35W bridge collapse over the Mississippi River.

The body found was that of Scott Sathers of Maple Grove-MN..

Still missing is contruction worker Greg Jolstad- who fell with the bridge when it collapsed August 1.

__________________

Central States Floods Kill 13

While it's been hit and miss for heavy rainfall over then Central U.S. this summer- some areas have been hit hard.

Minnesota- Wisconsin and Oklahoma bear the wrath of the latest round of flooding with record floods in some areas. Thirteen have died in the 3 states.

No immediate relief for the north Central states today either- as heavy- possibly severe storms forecast for the same inundated areas- as well as Iowa- Nebraska into northern Missouri- including the northern half of the Kansas City MetroRegion.

_________________

Time-Warner-Looney Tunes Cable Problems

Join one of hundreds of thousands of cable subscribers who can't get any of the local TV stations this Sunday morning save for Channel 9 and their 29.

You can't even get in on T-W-LT's service telephone number to ask when service MIGHT be restored or to get an adjustment on your bill due to the lack of service they'll charge you for if you don't call and complain.

Hell of a way to run a business....

_________________

Latest Satellite Picture Of Category-4 Hurricane Dean

The isle of Jamaica is to the left of the eyewall- in the 10 o'clock position.

Current track forecasts take Dean into Mexico later this week.

_____________

Governor "Baby" Blunt Seeks Law Change To Favor Brother

Did you try to get tickets to see Elton John at the new arena? If Missouri's governor gets his way- you won't be able to buy your own tickets to ANYTHING in this state.

Missouri's worst governor of modern history- the guy who cut kids and poor folks from medical care- Matt Blunt- now wants state legislators to repeal the anti ticket-scalping law in a special session he called Monday.

The repeal of that law would greatly benefit outfits like Ticketmaster- whose clients include ANDY BLUNT- the governor's brother. These outfits can buy up EVERY ticket then sell them back to us at an obscene profit- including "service charge."

Gee Governor- this isn't TOO blatant is it????

______________

Soldiers Fighting For America's Freedom Gets Censored

In the military's latest attempt to keep a lid on any "unauthorized" YouTube videos - the Navy has pulled a video shot aboard an aircraft carrier that simply depicted female sailors doing as good a job as men- according to the Associated Press.

Navy officials claimed the video showed brief exterior shots of the carrier's nuclear reactor and some hogwash about safety equipment worn improperly- poor excuses beat none.

This after the military has pulled virtually all YouTube videos that have anything pertaining to Bush's Folly.

So I guess as well as joining the military to risk your life in mentally-unstable leaders' battles- you give up you basic American freedoms too....

________________

The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Sunday, August 19, 2007

** ANOTHER RAYTOWN-MO HOME INVASION LEAVES 3 INJURED **

*** This is the 2nd reported home invasion- with injuries- in as many days - this time in the 9000 block of East 85th Street at 1:06 am.

A 23-year-old female was reportedly shot in the left knee and leg- a 19-year-old female was pistol-whipped and a male was struck by a baseball bat. All three injuries appeared to be not life-threatening.

Again- there wasn't any suspect information heard- but I'm sure Raytown Police should be releasing something later today regarding suspects in 2 home invasions there this weekend.

________________

** Two People Shot In South-Midtown KC-MO **

... Police were already in the area- keeping an eye on a chronic party house- when shots sounded in the 7500 block of Wabash at 1:24am Sunday morning.

Police report 2 people shot and the suspects left in a red Toyota Camry.

One victim was reported by MAST-EMS as "a 29-year-old female- shot in the side." she was taken to a nearby trauma center. No disposition was heard on the 2nd shooting victim.

_________________

** Woman Found "Under" A Police Car In KC-KS **

... That's how the call came out at 2:56am- "a person under a car" at the Wyandotte County Jail building at 710 N. 7th Street.

A KC-KS paramedic says the "32-year-old female was under and got struck by a police car" they tell a local trauma center's E-R department- where she was taken in serious condition.

_________________

** Odd Medical Call In Lee's Summit-MO **

... The initial call was for "a female having seizures" in the 3500 block of S.W. Phillip Court. However when paramedics arrived- they found at least "4" people in various stages of consciousness- indications are that these were young people as well.

One paramedic indicated that at least one of the victims may have taken a "date-rape drug." Police were investigating this incident.

_________________

** Two KC-MO Police Cars Collide *

... It appears that Kansas City-MO cops need to take defensive driving refresher courses.

Two officers collided at 6:22am Sunday morning at Truman Road & Topping. Both officer's injuries were reported minor.

It seems at least a dozen KC-MO police cars have been crashed over the past month at taxpayer's expense.

_________________

<><><> OVERNIGHT WEATHER <><> <>

The remnants of Tropical Storm Erin continues to be a suprisingly well-organized and tight low pressure center- and was northwest of Oklahoma City at dawn moving toward the MetroRegion.

Showers and thunderstorms developed in southeastern Kansas overnight moved north into the MetroRegion and diminished. Cloudy skies overnight kept temperatures in the mid-70's to near 80 in urban areas with light south winds.

The Storm Prediction Center has outlooked a "slight risk" of severe thunderstorms over southeastern and eastern Kansas- western and southwestern Missouri as well as parts of northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas through today into Monday morning. This risk area runs to just south of Metro Kansas City- but includes most of the southern parts of the MetroRegion. This includes both a threat for high winds and tornadoes.

Showers and thunderstorms will increase by midday into tonight and locally very heavy rainfall with this tropical system can be expected.

_________
Kansas City's Breaking News Leader - NBC41 ACTION NEWS.
_________