Saturday, April 25, 2009

Metro K.C. BREAKING WEATHER-NEWS: High Water Rescue - Flash Flood Warning In Leavenworth County-KS



This just in from NWS/Pleasant Hill-Kansas City:

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
1127 PM CDT SAT APR 25 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PLEASANT HILL HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
SOUTHERN LEAVENWORTH COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS...

* UNTIL 330 AM CDT

* AT 1125 PM CDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED FLASH
FLOODING ON TONGANOXIE CREEK IN TONGANOXIE. A WATER RESCUE HAS
BEEN ONGOING SINCE 10:45 PM.

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...BASEHOR...
TONGANOXIE AND LINWOOD.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...COUNTRY ROADS...AS WELL AS FARMLAND ALONG THE
BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODING. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. DO
NOT ENTER THE WATER. TURN AROUND AND MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO
ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN
WATER BEGINS RISING.

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K.C. Metro-MetroRegion BREAKING WEATHER: NWS-SPC- Severe Thunderstorm Watch No. 185 Until 5 AM Sunday-MO-KS-NE-IA



T
his watch was issued by the Storm Prediction Center minutes ago and replaces ST Watch No. 184 that was in effect until 10 PM..


ST Watch No. 185 includes that part of MetroRegion Kansas City generally along and northwest of I-35 in Missouri and Kansas- including all of Metro K.C. until 5 AM Sunday morning.

A Tornado Warning for northeastern Platte county MO was just cancelled- no tornado reports received on the equipment here- but Clinton County MO downstream of the storm has spotters on the alert.

Here's some latest Doppler weather radar images:

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Tornado Touches Down In Leavenworth County-KS

A tornado touched down in southern Leavenworth county KS. around 6:35pm this Saturday evening.

No immediate reports of injuries- but there is damage reported- some homes struck and overturned vehicles around the 15300 block of 206th Street and 238th Street and Loring Road.

Power and other utilities are also out in this area.

A Kansas City TV news helicopter spotted the tornado live and followed it's progress on an about 3-4 mile path.

A race at the Kansas Speedway was halted and thousands of spectators were herded into designated tornado shelter areas.

The tornado has since lifted back into the parent severe thunderstorm that is moving toward Platte county-MO and the K.C.I. airport area of KC-MO..

A flash flood warning is in effect for Leavenworth county until early Sunday morning. A severe thunderstorm watch continues in effect for the entire Metro K.C. through 10pm.

Updates as received.

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K.C. Metro BREAKING WEATHER: TORNADO ON THE GROUND IN S.W. LEAVENWORTH COUNTY-KS



A tornado is on the ground north of K-32 & I-70 north of Linwood-KS in southern Leavenworth County-KS..




TAKE COVER if you live in Bonner Springs or Basehor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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K.C. MetroRegion BREAKING NEWS: Motorcyclists Struck By Lightning In Jefferson County-KS



At 4:45pm Saturday afternoon- Jefferson county-KS emergency services dispatched a call to the 6900 block of U.S. 24 highway where a motorcycle with 2 riders travelling on U.S. 24 was "struck by lightning."


About 10 minutes later the first EMS unit arrived and shortly reported one of the occupants dead- the other was "up walking around."


There are yet no other details and Kansas Highway Patrol officers from Topeka were responding to the scene.
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K.C. Metro BREAKING WEATHER: Severe Thunderstorm Watch No. 184 In Effect- KS-MO-IA



Metro Kansas City is included in Severe Thunderstorm watch No. 184 that is valid until 10pm this Saturday evening.


Large hail appears to be the primary threat- though a Tornado Watch is in effect just west of the severe storm watch.

Here are the latest visible satellite and Doppler weather radar images:

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K.C. MetroRegion BREAKING WEATHER: NWS-SPC- Tornado Watch No. 183 - KS-OK-TX



Tornado Watch Number 183 will be in effect until 11pm this Saturday night.


This tornado watch includes the Kansas City MetroRegion Kansas counties west of the first tier of counties along the Missouri border.

Included are Kansas cities such as Lawrence- Valley Falls- Ottawa- Garnett and Topeka.

The counties included are shown on the following graphic.

Severe storms have already fired-up in the watch area- around the Emporia area.

Here are the latest visible satellite and Doppler weather radar images:


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Bea Arthur Dies At Age 86



She was the star of the All In The Family spin-off "Maude"- and she also starred in the 1980-90's TV series "Golden Girls."


Ms. Arthur died peacefully in her California home- according to the Associated Press.
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Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News Report - Saturday - April 25, 2009



*** One Dead - 4 Injured In KC-MO Shootings ***


*** Shootings at 3 locations across central to south-central Kansas City-MO left 1 dead and at least 4 others injured- two critically.


The first shooting call and scene of the homicide was at 11:44pm Friday night in the 2800 block of Southwest Boulevard. This is near a rental hall which has had past criminal incidents.

Two females were found shot- one fatally to the head inside a vehicle and the other shot twice in the stomach. A short time later- the 3rd injured in this incident- a male- appeared at a nearby medical trauma center.

Suspect information was said to possibly be 3 young Hispanic males.


*** About 15 minutes after midnight- a 33-year-old male was shot in Swope Park in the 6800 block of Elmwood.

The man was rushed to a hospital with a gunshot to his jaw and police attempted to find a crime scene and evidence nearby.


*** The last shooting so far this Saturday morning was just after 1am in the 3600 block of Michigan.

A 20-year-old female was shot in the mouth police said. Her injuries were said to be critical according to a MAST-EMS paramedic who transported here to a medical trauma center,


Police didn't have any suspect info to release yet.

_________

** Westport Hopping **


... Two assault calls and a stabbing within an hour of another kept police and EMS responders busy.

One assault victim in the 500 block of Westport Road around 1:15am refused MAST-EMS transport- another victim at the intersection of Bridger a few minutes later went to a hospital by private vehicle.


At 2:09am- a call was received for a male stabbing victim in the 400 block of Westport Road. A police officer who was at the scene said the male in his 20's had been stabbed twice in the abdomen.

This victim was transported by MAST-EMS to a nearby hospital in not immediately life-threatening condition.

_________

** KC-MO House Fires Overnight **


... Two house fires- one vacant the other a lived-in structure.


The first fire was around 2:40am in a vacant 1-1/2-story structure in the 3800 block of Bernard Powell Drive- near 18th Street & Cleveland.

It took crews from 5 fire companies of KC-MO firefighters about 20 minutes to bring the fire here under control in a house that was being renovated.

The cause was suspicious and a fire department investigator responded.


The 2nd fire was in a lived-in 1-1/2-story house in the 4400 block of Indiana.

That fire alarm sounded at 3:07am and it took about 15 minutes to bring that fire under control.

An adult and 2 children who occupied the house escaped uninjured- but required Red Cross assistance. The cause of that fire was under investigation too.

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


Thunderstorms rumbled across and out of the far northern portions of the Kansas City MetroRegion overnight- around Tarkio and Maryville-MO..

The storms broke out along a cold front that has gone stationary from Iowa into west-central Kansas this morning. A few showers reamined over northwest and northern Missouri- but generally skies are partly cloudy to cloudy.

Temperatures were early summer-like- around 70 degrees near sunrise in urban areas- but plunged in far northwestern parts of the MetroRegion into the 50's as the cold front slowly sagged southward.


That slow to no-moving cold front will contribute to a very active weather pattern over the Central States for at least the next 5 days.

Virtually all of the Kansas City MetroRegion is under a "slight risk" of severe thunderstorms later today into early Sunday. A higher or "moderate risk" is forecast for areas of the Central States from south-central Kansas into western Oklahoma. There could be some strong tornadoes in those areas.

The severe storm risks continue through Monday- also an increasing risk of heavy rainfalls.

As much as half a foot could fall somewhere within 100 miles of Kansas City.

Any life-threatening information will be passed on here at CSW....


The good news is no more frosts or freezes- temperatures around average of upper-60's highs and near-50-degree lows. Possible brief drying-out Tuesday before the same cold front meanders back in the area later next week bringing more rain and storms.



_________


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





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Friday, April 24, 2009

Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: Three Shot On Southwest Boulevard In KC-MO



At 11:44pm- KC-MO police- fire & MAST-EMS were called to the 2800 block of Southwest Boulevard on a shooting.


Police arrived a few minutes and confirmed 2 victims- one possibly near death. At 11:55pm- a possible 3rd victim reportedly arrived at a nearby hospital by private vehicle.

One of the victims was reportedly found in a vehicle in the rear of the incident address.

Only suspect information thus far is "3 young Hispanic males- possibly dressed in red."

Investigators are either on-scene or enroute and Southwest Blvd. is closed in this area.
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"Thorn In The Side" Has New Transportation Plan



K
ansas City's most imaginative former-citizen- Clay Chastain-has a new alternative transportation plan for Kansas City-MO..


I'm sure our blinders-sighted local politicians are as pleased as punch to hear this news.

This "bottomline.com" article on Mr. Chastain's plan calls the man "a thorn in the side."

I'll say this about Clay Chastain: He MAY be a thorn- but- unlike our local leaders- at LEAST he's got imagination and vision.

With our present "ruling class" we'd have been lucky to have ANY park system or boulevards.
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Thursday, April 23, 2009

Central States WEATHER: 5-Day Rainfall Forecast



A strong storm system will produce severe weather and heavy rain throughout the Kansas City MetroRegion beginning late Saturday and possibly continuing off and on until next Tuesday.


As you can see by the latest NWS Hydro Prediction Center graphic- parts of the Kansas City MetroRegion could receive upwards of 5 inches of rain by next Tuesday.

So in addition to possible severe thunderstorms beginning late Saturday- we can expect heavy- possibly flooding rainfalls over the next 5 days or so.

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Mortgage-Maker Freddie Mac Official Commits Suicide



Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were a mortgage-issuing- semi-corporate couple that got the American economy into really deep doo-doo.


According to the Associated Press and other news agencies- the acting chief CFO of Freddie Mac David Kellermann killed himself in his Virginia home this morning.

At least he didn't take his family with him....
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Central States WEATHER: Severe Weather Coming This Weekend



A strong storm system from the West and a front from the north will spell an increasing chance of severe thunderstorms- and possible heavy- flooding rains this weekend into early next week.


The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center (NWS-SPC) has the central portion of the Central States- including Metro and MetroRegion Kansas City in a forecasted risk area Day 4- which is Saturday through Sunday mornings- as well as "Day 5"- covering the period Sunday through Monday mornings.

Of course with this weather system still several days away there can and probably will be changes- so stay informed here or via your fave weather link.
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Another Family Murder-Suicide In Maryland



This was a family of four from New York- found dead in their hotel room near Baltimore on Monday.




The means of death have not been released- but police there say it's not by gun or knife- according to the Associated Press story.

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Monday, April 20, 2009

Extra Police Patrols Because It's "4-20"



NEWS ITEM
: Area police departments have extra patrols on duty looking for marijuana smokers because today is 4-20- supposively some sort of code for mary jane.

Yeah- right.

Because it's "4-20" we're all going to become irresponsible and drive around stoned to the max- running into clueless motorists and running down hapless pedestrians.

BULLETIN: People drive like that daily- NOT just on "4-20."

Maybe the cops would fare better putting these "extra patrols" on the streets during weekend nights- instead of conglomerating at so-called "sobrety checkpoints" hoping high and intoxicated drivers come to them.
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Ten Years Ago- Terror In Littleton-CO



I
t was close to the noon hour of April 20- 1999 and I was assisting our mama cat with the birth of her first and only litter of kittens.


Across the room- CNN was on the telly- showing live images from a news helicopter flying over the Columbine High School in Littleton- Colorado.

The school was in terror- surrounded by police and S.W.A.T. teams.

Two young gunmen- Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold- had entered the school where they were seniors and went on a killing spree- selfishly taking other lives apparently to validate their own existence.

Harris & Klebold took 13 lives in Columbine and wounded nearly 2 dozen others before taking their own lives.

Ten years later- those survivors of the Columbine Massacre tell their stories in this Associated Press article.

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Sunday, April 19, 2009

Metro Kansas City WEATHER: NWS "Urban and Small Stream Flood Advisory" Until 9:30 AM



Be cautious of ponding on roadways and small stream overflows in southern Leavenorth and Wyandotte counties Kansas- and in southern Platte- southern Clay and Ray counties- northern Jackson and northwestern Lafayette counties Missouri through 9:30 AM- according to the NWS-PleasantHill/Kansas City..


A band of showers and thunderstorms with locally heavy rainfalls persisted from around the Liberty-Lexington-MO areas west-southwestward across Gladstone- Downtown KC-MO- Parkville- KC-KS into southern Leavenworth county KS..

Around 4 inches of rain has fallen in northern KC-KS according to the NWS.

Rainfalls of 3-4-inches are also indicated by NWS Doppler weather radar (see-click on radar image) west of Missouri City-MO and in southern Leavenworth county KS south of Tonganoxie.

This band of moderate to heavy rainfalls is slowly sinking south into Jackson county MO and Johnson county KS..

There have been signs of a weakening of rainfall rates and this trend should continue through 9 am this Sunday morning.

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Tornado Strikes Monroe LA With Confirmed Injuries

The tornado struck around noon on Easter Sunday. There is considerable damage repo rted in that northeastern Louisiana city of around 5000...