Lebo KS Fire Victims Identfied

The four victims in a Saturday dawn blaze that swept their mobile home in the east-central town of Lebo Kansas have been identified.

According to the TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNAL- 25-year-old Michael O'Clair, 28-year-old Heather Super, 5-year-old Tafani Merrell, and 2-year-old Taylan Super all died in the mobile home fire in the 300 block of South Maple in Lebo.

Coffey County Fire District 1 crews and law officers responded to the fire at 6:22 a.m. Saturday morning and couldn't make entry into the heavily-involved dwelling until the fire was under control.

A cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

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MetroRegion Kansas City KCPL Power Outages as of 5 PM Saturday

Thousands of Kansas City MetroRegion customers of the Kansas City Power & Light Company are without electrical power at this hour late Saturday afternoon.

The map image- provided by KCP&L- shows the outages mostly caused by this morning and noon hour's thunderstorms that produced wind gusts as high as hurricane-force near St. Joseph.

More thunderstorms have developed in north-central Kansas- and a tornado watch is in effect for much of northern Kansas and southern Nebraska for Saturday night.

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Four Killed in Kansas MetroRegion Mobile Home Fire

Early Saturday morning- firefighters in Lebo and Coffey county KS were called to a mobile home fire.

KVOE-AM in Emporia and the Associated Press are reporting that firefighters were called to the fire around 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning- and once the fire was under control went inside the burned mobile home and found the 4 victims- 2 adults and 2 children.

The victim's names- and any other information about this fire is not yet being released by the Coffey county Sheriff's depatment.


Lebo- a town of just under 1000 people- is along Interstate-35 east of Emporia and is about 75 miles southwest of Downtown Kansas City MO..

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National Flood Outlook Graphic - June 19 2010

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"Devastated" Over America's Oily Gulf of Mexico- BP's Hayward Goes Yachting With The Rich

Certainly no one ASKED British Petroleum to trash America's Gulf of Mexico coast with oil.

So Tony Hayward- with all the stress of this oil gusher nearly a mile under the Gulf's surface- what to do- WHAT TO DO?


Well- unlike those "small" people devastated by BP's fuck-up- Hayward wanted HIS "life back-" so Hayward goes to a yacht race in Great Britain composed of mostly large (rich) people.


Americans should put a lien on Hayward's $700000 rowboat and put the damn thing in the Gulf to help with the oil cleanup....

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CSW WEATHER: Severe T-storm Watch No. 347 Until 5 a.m. Saturday- KS-MO-IL-IN

The Storm Prediction Center issued Severe Thunderstorm Watch No. 347 until 5 a.m. CDT for central- eastern and northern parts of the Kansas City MetroRegion.


In Kansas- only Leavenworth- Wyandotte and Johnson counties are in the watch.

In Missouri- all Metro counties- Buchanan on the north and Cass on the south and counties eastward are included in ST Watch No. 347.


The NWS weather radar image shown here from the Pleasant Hill MO site shows a line of storms from Doniphan county Kansas eastward across St. Joseph- Cameron and east-northeast.

This line is due to sag into northern parts of the Metro over the next hour- and slowly progress southward.

Be alert for torrential rainfall with this slow-moving storm line as well as a lot of lightning.

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Strange Photo Juxtapositions No. 167

Major league baseball portrays it's product as clean- All-American family fun.

The Chicago Cubs' image is clearly among the top-echelon baseball organizations in America purveying the notion of baseball- Mom and the American Flag.


But even Superman Dad needs a break after getting a 2nd mortage to buy the family tickets- loading everybody/everything up and making the long trek to the ballpark- enduring the game and most concessions times 3- then having the hometeam lose and everybody gets rained on.

Gentleman's club INDEED!

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Law Enforcement Concerned About Live Internet Broadcast of Police Tactical Operation

On June 7- police were surrounding a home in Blue Rapids KS in a standoff with a man who had shot a Marshall county sheriff's deputy and was holding the home's elderly female occupant hostage.

The man- 43-year-old Stephen Macomber of Topeka- was already wanted for murdering a Topeka man and robbing an Omaha-area bank in the days prior.


According to a story in The MARYSVILLE (KS) ADVOCATE written by Katelynn Hasler- quite a number of the area's residents were able to listen to police radio communications of the standoff on an Internet website.

Radio Reference.com apparently had a live scanner audio feed from a contributor in Kansas that was receiving broadcasts of sensitive tactical-operation information- and that has some law enforcement officials in the state concerned about the practice.


(NOTE: CSW does not re-transmit in any way ANY live police- fire or EMS radio broadcasts nor relay ANY potentially sensitive information gathered except to legitimate news organizations in the name of the First Amendment of the United States of America.)

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Corporate Welfare-Supported- Unfinished and Bankrupt KC-MO Plaza "West Edge" Project Headed For Auction

There are current KC-MO City Council members that approved the Tax-Increment Financing (TIF i.e. corporate welfare) for Bob Bernstein's West Edge fantasy.

The project went bankrupt- sits uncompleted and- according to this story in The KANSAS CITY BUSINESS JOURNAL- the property could well be auctioned-off with no floor- or minimum bid.


There's no mention in the KCBJ story telling how much this corporate welfare fiasco will cost KC-MO taxpayers- but then again it seems the City (Clowncil) has plenty of taxpayer's money to throw down holes (see proposed convention hotel pending-disaster).

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MetroRegion K.C. Weather: "Moderate Risk" of Severe Storms in Northern MetroRegion Today

The moderate risk area as outlined by the NWS' Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is generally along and north of U.S. 36 highway- including Atchison KS and cities such as St. Joseph- Maryville- Chillicothe- Kirksville- Bethany and Trenton- and the moderate risk lasts until about 7 a.m. Saturday morning.


Metro Kansas City and the southern areas of the MetroRegion are in a "slight risk" area for severe thunderstorms.


Primary severe threats today are large hail and winds of 58 m.p.h. or greater and- as is the risk with any severe thunderstorm- isolated tornadoes- especially in the moderate risk area.

More a threat will be torrential rainfalls that could produce deadly flash flooding- or at the very least exacerbate present flood conditions.

There's also a "slight risk" for severe storms Saturday through early Sunday from Metro Kansas City northward.

CSW will man the overnight hours Saturday and Sunday morning to let you know if any severe weather threatens the Metro.

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Minnesota Tornadoes Kill At Least 2

Tornadoes in west-central- northwestern and south-central Minnesota has killed at least 2 people and injured at least four.

Almora was the location of a woman killed trying to seek shelter in a ditch when the tornado struck the small enclave of 20 people around 5 p.m..

The woman's husband who was also trying to take shelter was seriously injured.

A man was killed and 3 were injured when a gas station in Mentor MN was destroyed by a tornado about 6:30 p.m. CDT..

High winds and possibly a tornado or two did heavy damage in the city of Wadena- but there are no initial reports of injuries- according to the MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE.



Later in the evening- a large tornado was reported near Albert Lea in south-central Minnesota.

Homes were reported destroyed with "people injured" in the area of Alden MN- according to the ALBERT LEA (MN) TRIBUNE.

Heavy damage was also reported in the community of Kiester.

UPDATE- Friday morning 0855 CDT- The ALBERT LEA TRIBUNE is now reporting one fatality and "dozens" of injuries.

Tornado watches and/or severe thunderstorms continue tonight from northern Kansas into Nebraska- Iowa- Minnesota and Wisconsin.

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CSW COMMENTARY: Should Texas Apologize to America For Rep. Joe Barton?

Here's an aside to today's Congressional "hearings" regarding British Petroleum's (BP) trashing of the Gulf of Mexico shoreline by their well blowout.



Believe this or don't- Republicrat Representative Joe Barton of Texas apologized to BP's Tony Hayward for the way Haywood was treated by certain Americans- specifically President Obama.


Here- you can watch it yourself courtesy of CBS News.

I've lived in Texas- I visit Texas often- there are many friends and damn good people in Texas.

How the HELL did some of your brethren elect the likes of Joe Barton and do ya think ya-all might DO something about that?


President Obama's DEMAND for an escrow account- the $20-billion that BP must set aside- was the start of what I hope are a series of right things being done about this continuing ecological disaster.


Joe Barton's "apology" was sheer political bullshit- and ANY American trying to play politics with the worst ecological disaster in American history should at very least have his head examined.

At very best- voters should replace the likes of Joe Barton at the earliest possible election.

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Woman Yells at BP's Hayward: "You Need to be Charged with a Crime."

Watching the Senate's hearings regarding BP's- Halliburton's- et-al- trashing of America's Gulf of Mexico- at the start of the hearing a woman in the audience stood up and yelled at British Petroleum CEO Tony Hayward "You need to be charged with a crime."

He's BP's CEO and he "isn't responsible?????"

One crime I see and hear while watching the hearing is that Hayward can't even answer many of the questions put to him by politicians. 

Playing dumb won't cut it with many Americans who are absolutely LIVID over the continued destruction of the American coastline of the Gulf of Mexico.

If it means bankruptcy for BP- Halliburton- et al- so be it.

Any and ALL deep-sea drilling within America's shorelines MUST be halted until oil companies come up with complete plans to stop such massive oil leaks.

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Minor Fire Shuts Down South Kansas City Eatery

Five companies of the Kansas City MO Fire department were called at 10:18 a.m. Thursday morning to a reported fire at Couzin's Catfish restaurant in the 8700 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard.


This CSW photographer was first on the scene- and witnessed dark brown smoke coming from the roof of the 1-story structure while employees inside evacuated.

The fire was in a deep fryer and vent- and was pretty-much extinguished by the restaurant's fire supression system and a handline from a fire department pumper.


Damage was fairly light- but the KC-MO Health department was called and the restaurant is closed to the public until health department inspector determines the establishment is safe for food service.

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More Photos of Tuesday Evening's Full Double-Rainbow

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June Rainfall In Parts of Metro Kansas City Passes the 14-Inch Mark

Wednesday evening's thunder-downpours brought around 2-inches of rain in about an hour over parts of the southern Metro.

Images shown (click to enlarge) are- to the left is Wednesday's rainfall totals- via Overland Park's "Stormwatch" - from rain guages covering JoCo KS- south and midtown KC-MO as well as Northland KC-MO- and to the right the June totals so far as of the 9 p.m. hour Wednesday.


A June maximum so far of 14.02 is reported at Mission Road at Indian Creek in Leawood. Second place goes to a reporting station at I-435 and Nall in Overland Park at 13.98-inches.

There are unofficial reports I've seen of more than 17-inches of rain so far this month in the Ruskin Heights area of south KC-MO and parts of northwestern Cass county MO..


Wednesday's  heaviest rains appeared to be over northwestern Cass county with the 2-inch report- followed by south Jackson county MO into eastern and southeastern Johnson county KS with 1.5 to 1.8 inch reports.

Some high water rescues were necessary in Leawood KS at 151st Street and Kenneth Road- in Belton  in the 16400 block of Harris and in Raymore in the 1000 block of Johnston.

Lightning struck several houses in Overland park and Leawood- and caused a fire that heavily-damaged a house in Lee's Summit MO..

No injuries reported at any of those incidents.


Moderate flood crests are forecast by the NWS along the Missouri River from Brownsville NE to Leavenworth KS.

The flood crest will arrive in Leavenworth Friday morning.

The current weather radar shows last evening's activity well east of Metro Kansas City- but another area of precipitation shown moving east into central Kansas- leaving at least some chance of more precip here in the Metro later this Thursday morning.

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Photos of Rare Double-Rainbow Over Eastern Raytown

The storm system that brought parts of Metro Kansas City nearly 1.75-inches of rain in an hour has moved into the southeastern through eastern MetroRegion.

On it's departure- it left a stunningly-beautiful full double rainbow to the east of Blue Ridge in Raytown- and we just HAD to pull-off an snap these and other photos/videos of this rare sight.


An update on today's rainfall totals and the June running-total so far coming soon....

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CSW BREAKING: Severe Thunderstorms Poised To Hit Metro K.C.

Severe thunderstorms are just to the west of Metro Kansas City and warnings have been posted for western and northwestern Kansas Metro counties (refer to radar image for exact locations).

Also- be aware of rapidly-developing and potentially deadly flash flooding with these storms!

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Central States News: One Missing When Railroad Bridge Collapses into Floodwaters Near Norfolk NE

Three employees of the Nebraska Central Railroad Co. were inspecting a bridge Tuesday when the bridge suddenly collapsed- sending the 3 men into the raging floodwaters of the Elkhorn river at Norfolk.

Two of the men managed to get out of the swollen river- but the 3rd man went missing and remains so today- according to the story in The GRAND ISLAND (NE) INDEPENDENT.

The Elkhorn crested "2 inches below" the flood-control levees in Norfolk- and the river is slowly receeding.

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MetroRegion Kansas City Flood Update

Scattered heavy rains continue over the Central States and Kansas City MetroRegion- gradually worsening flood conditions on the middle Missouri River upstream of Kansas City.

The latest hydrologic conditions- as shown in this recent image from the NWS-Kansas City/Pleasant Hill office shows moderate flooding on the Missouri as far south as Atchison KS today.

Currently- showers and thunderstorms are occurring over parts of south through north-central Kansas.

This activity is GENERALLY moving north-northeast- but some storm activity could very well develop eastward in the heat of the day into Metro Kansas City- adding to some locations' rainfall totals so far the June 2010 of a foot or more of rainfall.

No break in this warm to hot and humid weather pattern is seen yet- with another low pressure trough re-organizing in the western states next week- gradually re-loading this weather pattern of summer storms.

The good news is that aside from the torrential rainfalls- only isolated- if any- severe weather is expected to occur.

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American Airlines Flight Attendant Helps Land Plane in Chicago

An American Airlines female flight attendant helped the pilot land a passsenger jet at O'Hare airport after the co-pilot became ill while in-flight.

According to The CHICAGO (IL) TRIBUNE- the flight originated in San Francisco Monday and while enroute to Chicago- the co-pilot fell ill.

The pilot inquired of the 225 people on-board if anyone was a pilot- and a flight attendant spoke up that she had a commercial pilot's license.

The flight attendant was given an in-flight promotion to first officer and helped the captain land the Boeing 767 without incident.

The co-pilot was treated and released from a Chicago hospital.

Was the flight attendant promoted to first officer?

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South Metro Kansas City Storms Add to Already Impressive Rainfall Totals For June So Far

Thunderstorms forecast overnight didn't materalize- but by mid-afternoon cumulus clouds blossomed into cumulonimbus that produced torrential rains over the southern Metro.

On top of all that- a wall cloud actually formed on the south end of the last thundercell that passed through around the 3 o'clock hour- shown here on this series of photos taken at Longview Lake.

Thankfully- that wall cloud soon dissipated as the storm cell began moving more southeasterly- toward Cass county MO..

Heavy rain fell in some areas again- with a maxima seen on area rain gauges at 1.22 inches in south KC-MO near 95th Street and Lydia- very close to the Bannister Road GSA Federal complex.

This also prompted the NWS office in Pleasant Hill to issue a Flash Flood Warning for Johnson county KS and portions of Jackson- Cass- Lafayette and Johnson counties MO until 6:30 p.m.

Weather radars indicate most of the heavy rain activity has moved out of the Metro and except for a few small cells in Douglas county KS- most of the rain should be over .

So- to pull a TV meteorologist ploy where they ask the VIEWERS weather questions- "how much rain did that add to June's totals?"

Click on the last image that depicts the latest (as of 4:20 p.m.) rainfall totals area-wide so far for June 2010.


If you're not sure of the location of a particular gauge- you can match the gauge's number on the Overland Park Traffic department's 'Stormwatch' site.


We SHOULD get a break from any organized storms and flooding rains for the next 2 days at least.

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