"Tornado Emergency" Issued For Wichita Kansas

KWCH-TV is reporting "a large tornado has crossed I-35 near Derby" and is headed northeast.


The NWS issued a "Tornado Emergency" for Wichita...


Wichita Fire department units are reporting large areas of south Wichita without power..


At 10:40 pm- fire companies were dispatched on "a building collapse" at "3801 S. Oliver-" and this is reportedly at the Boeing Aircraft/Spirit AeroSystems Company near McConnell Air Force Base.

There are indications of tornado damage at McConnell AFB itself.


A FD unit updates at 10:48 p.m. states there is "moderate damage" to "buildings" at the Boeing facility.


Gas leaks are reported at "Cedardale and Oaklawn" in Wichita.

At 11:03 pm- IFD reports another "building collapse-"  this at the Beechcraft Aircraft facility.


There have been injuries- number and extent unknown- the same with at least one report of a person missing in the tornado damaged areas of south and southeastern Sedgwick county.


Heavily-hit was the small community of Oaklawn- near McConnell AFB.

 
 
At 11:14 pm- there was a report of "people trapped in debris" of their mobile homes at the Pinaire Mobile Home Park and FD units are having to enter the park "on foot."


As of 12:20 am Sunday morning- FD command was reporting "3" injured in the mobile home park- but 2 of those injured haven't had access to EMS units yet."


The one injury was said be be a "cardiac" patient who was in serious condition.


As of 4 am Sunday morning- various news media reports says that about a dozen injuries have been reported in Metro Wichita- but no critical injuries or fatalites (although one person is said to be "missing" still).   

The tornado that hit Wichita continued northeast- and may have struck very near Andover and El Dorado KS northeast of Wichita.



Attempting to get more information on that- but not hearing any reports as of 1 am..


At 11:25 pm- KWCH-TV storm chasers were still reporting a "a large tornado on the ground east of El Dorado."


A tornado also reported on the ground in Ellisworth County KS at that time.


Tornadoes also touched down in Iowa late Saturday afternoon and evening- destroying about 75% of Thurman and damaging a hospital and other structures in Creston.


Early Sunday morning- a tornado struck the northwestern Oklahoma city of Woodward- killing at least 5 and injuring dozens..

CSW WEATHER UPDATE: Severe Storm-Tornado Outbreak On-Going Across Kansas- Oklahoma

So far- Metro Kansas City remains clear of ANY severe weather watches and certainly any warnings- but that is not the case hundreds of miles west to southwest...

Tornado watches continue just north of Metro Kansas City- in Clinton and Buchanan counties Missouri- and to the west and southwest- including Topeka and Emporia as well as many other towns and cities.

Live Internet streaming of KWCH-TV in Wichita has revealed videos of several large tornadoes across that area the past few hours- but so far those tornados have avoided towns- cities and other population centers.


There have been no reports of any injuries thus far in tornadoes that have touched down in Iowa- Nebraska- Kansas and Oklahoma.


The current activity wouldn't make it into the Metro Kansas City area until around midnight- but other activity could develop ahead of the current storms- and it's likely Kansas City will be under some sort of severe weather watch by then too.

CSW WEATHER: Thunderstorms Building Near Metro Kansas City

Metro Kansas City remains in a "moderate risk" area for possible severe thunderstorms and tornadoes this Saturday afternoon and night...

Currently- tornado watches are in effect to our north- northwest- west and far southwest- in Iowa- Nebraska- central and western Kansas into western Oklahoma.

In those areas- there is a "high risk" of severe weather.




No watches currently in effect for Kansas City- but thunderstorms are beginning to develop to the west and northwest of the Metro- as illustrated by the accompanying weather radar image.




Expect weather conditions in Metro Kansas City to further deteriorate as we move toward sunset- with severe storms likely in our area- particularly after dark.

Tornadoes Strike Norman- Shawnee Oklahoma

As a Tornado Watch continues for that area and more severe weather is forecast for at least the next 30 hours- tornadoes hit populated areas of Oklahoma...

A small tornado touched down in Norman Oklahoma about 4:15 p.m. Friday afternoon- causing reportedly "minor injuries."

Major structure damage was reported near Robinson and 12th Avenue Northeast and 24th Avenue Southwest and Lindsay- according to The OKLAHOMAN online.


Damage to roofs of several dozen homes and structures- power lines/poles and trees were noted in a wider area from those locations.

KFOR-4 in Oklahoma City is reporting "11 minor injuries" have been treated at a hospital in Norman.

Initial tornado intensity estimate was possibly as high as an EF-2....

About 30 minutes later that same storm cell produced another tornado in northwestern Shawnee OK..

Although there are reports of structures damaged- there are yet no reports of injuries as the tornado crossed I-40 in northwest Shawnee.

CSW WEATHER: High Risk of Severe Storms- Tornadoes Across Central States Saturday

An outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes is forecast across the Central States on Saturday- according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman OK..

In an about 50 to 75 mile wide area from about Salina to Wichita KS down to Oklahoma City- there is a HIGH RISK of severe storms and tornadoes.


A later-issued storm outlook has added another high risk area that covers eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.


Cities such as Omaha- Lincoln and Norfolk NE as well as Council Bluffs and Harlan in IA are now in a HIGH RISK area for possible severe thunderstorms and tornadoes..


Surrounding that high risk area is a moderate risk area that runs generally north-south in an about 125 mile wide area from eastern Nebraska-western Iowa- northwestern Missouri- much of eastern Kansas and northern through southern Oklahoma  (not in the high risk area) to extreme north Texas near Wichita Falls.

The moderate risk area includes Maryville and St. Joseph in MO- Atchison- Lawrence- Topeka- Emporia- Ottawa and Garnett as well as other eastern KS towns and cities


THE MODERATE RISK AREA FOR SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES EXTENDS TO THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF METRO KANSAS CITY.


Around both of those risk areas is a "slight risk" of severe weather that covers most of IA and parts of the other states mentioned above in the higher risk areas.


According to a paragraph in the latest SPC storm outlook- "THE HIGHEST TORNADO THREAT SHOULD EXIST ACROSS SERN NEB...SW IA...NW MO AND ERN KS WHERE A MODERATE RISK IS LOCATED."

There is also a "slight risk" of severe storms and possible tornadoes later today across many of the same areas forecasted to be hit on Saturday- and today's risk area runs just south to southwest of Metro Kansas City.


Friday afternoon- severe weather was breaking out from Oklahoma into southeastern Kansas...


A Tornado Watch was issued for much of southwestern  through northeastern Oklahoma- touching the Kansas border northwest of Miami- and a small part of western north Texas.

Tornado Watch Number 160 in effect until 9 pm Friday night includes Oklahoma cities such as Tulsa- Stillwater- Oklahoma City and Lawton.



Also issued by the SPC just before 4 pm Friday was Severe Thunderstom Watch No. 161 that's valid until 10 pm this Friday night.


This watch includes the Kansas City MetroRegion counties of Bates and Vernon in Missouri- Linn and Anderson counties in Kansas as well as Wichita- Emporia- Coffeyville and Parsons in KS..


As of this post- none of Metro Kansas City has any watches or warnings in effect- we're expecting the main show here to be later Saturday...

As of 4:15 pm- there were tornado warnings around the SPC office in Norman OK- with severe thunderstorm warnings extending into southeastern Kansas and a weather radar image from NWS-Tulsa's Doppler backs that up.

Now is the time to check batteries in flashlights- weather radios- etc. and please pre-plan NOW where you and/or your family would go if a tornado warning is issued in your area.



CSW will be on-duty overnight tonight and Saturday night- and we'll be on top of any severe weather outbreak in Metro Kansas City this weekend.

Kansas City MO Homicide No. 35 for 2012

The latest murder was again in the inner-city...

Thursday afternoon during the 1 o'clock hour a man was shot and killed in the 3000 block of Kensington.


Police say the undescribed suspects possibly exited the scene of the crime in a gray Pontiac.


(I happened to check lead stories on the 5 o'clock TV news on 5- 9 & 41- ALL led with a non-Kansas City story- an old murder 1500 miles away!  I turned to a M*A*S*H* rerun....)

Congressman Cleaver at a Crossroads

Congressman and pastor Emanuel Cleaver- the guy that even had a KC-MO street renamed for him- has more than a million dollars outstanding on a small business loan for a car wash in Grandview at Blue Ridge near Grandview Road.


There has been talk recently of Cleaver possibly defaulting on that loan- leaving the American taxpayers to foot his bill.


Congressman Cleaver- IF you WANT to continue to 'serve' the public as a politician- and to serve God as a pastor- don't YOU think you'd better be finding ways of paying that loan back YOURSELF?

If you want MY vote/respect anyway....

Kansas City MO's Gifts to Wealthy Developers Continues Unabated

Wonder why your property and other taxes keep rising even though we're in a recession?


One big reason is because your city politicians are practically using your tax dollars to build new things for wealthy developers.


The latest proposed 'corporate welfare?'


Why- for a new apartment building in the Plaza and more retail in KC-MO's Northland of course.


To top all of that- the city wants to "adjust" a TIF already given where the recipient is not meeting their end of the agreement- all the while city residents are getting ready to pay BIG increases on our water/sewer bills- etc..

Some UMKC professors who know A LOT MORE about these types of economic issues- like TIFS- 353's and other forms of corporate welfare- have a study online about KC-MO's TIF projects.


You may or may not be shocked to also learn that THE MOST TIFs or corporate welfare has actually gone to KC-MO's wealthiest council districts- not the poor districts for which those types of "economic incentives" were intended.


So it's not all that hard to see that when the city diverts developer's sales and property taxes away from the city's general fund- we're going to see A) loss of city services due to decreased revenues (hey- let's lay off 105 firefighters!) and B) an increase in fees and taxes to make up what the city does not collect in taxes from a new development.


And this city's politicians want to spend more than $100-million for a downtown streetcar system???


The Captain often wonders if this city's residents actually CARE about what's going on at City Hall (and on our poorly-kept streets).

CSW Weather: Upgrade of Severe Storm Risk Friday- Saturday and Sunday in Kansas City MetroRegion

It appears that the Kansas City MetroRegion is going to have our first bona-fide severe weather outbreak beginning later tomorrow (Friday)- with a "moderate risk" of severe storms on Saturday...

The NWS' Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has the MetroRegion outlooked to possible receive severe thunderstorms and tornadoes beginning Friday afternoon with the threat extending into Sunday.

In Metro Kansas City- it appears the greatest threat for severe weather could come later Saturday into Sunday- until a dry line and cold front passes by.


One area NWS office- Topeka- even mentions the possibility of violent- long-track tornadoes in our area on Saturday- with storm activity maintaining it's severity even in the nighttime hours!

Please take this time to review and/or plan a weather safety procedure for your home- workplace and/or mobile activities.


When severe storm watches and/or warnings are issued- please call friends and family to make sure THEY are aware of the situation and to seek underground shelter if need be.

PLEASE- don't let the weather end your world in 2012!

CSW Weather: Chance of Severe Storms This Weekend in Kansas City MetroRegion

For a few days now- the National Weather Services' (NWS) Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has forecasted an area where possible severe thunderstorms could develop this coming weekend- and that area includes Metro as well as much of MetroRegion Kansas City...

Here not quite at mid-week- it appears the best chance for severe storms- and possible tornadoes- would be on Saturday- although storms could fire to our west and northwest as early as late Thursday night-early Friday morning.

As usually is the case- the extent and severity of those thunderstorms will be determined a great deal on how warm we get this weekend- a warm- sunny day is more prone to severe weather than a cloudy- rainy one.

Here at CSW- we'll be on it!

Streetcars? Kansas City MO Needs Fire Hydrants Too

Fire broke out in Josh Priest's house at 26th Street and Stark Avenue in East Kansas City MO sometime before the fire department dispatched the alarm at 1:58 a.m. on Saturday morning April 7.


According to the story written by Amy Hawley of KSHB-41 Action News- Mr. Priest's son "saved" the family by crying all night- but that wasn't the headline.


The story was that the Priest family's home suffered more fire damage than it should have was because the fire department- even with their three pumpers called to the scene initially- ran out of water.


CSW checked recordings of fire department radio communications that morning- and the following was clear:


First-arriving- let's call them Pumper (engine) A- sees smoke and/or fire but no hydrant immediately nearby and used the water in the truck's tank- anywhere from 500 to 1000 gallons- to take a hoseline into the 1-story house to get the first attack the flames.

Standard procedure ...  this leaves the second arriving Pumper B to find a water source i.e. a fire hydrant- which was done that morning- BUT...

That hydrant is dead- and- having lived in that general area once- hydrants are far-between (as are curbs- storm sewers or sidewalks)

This leaves either Pumper B or just arriving Pumper C to supply Pumper A with their tank's water with the other patrolling for a hydrant in the area- or both just get in close using their own lines and water.

By 2:14 a.m.- the water supply was so untennable and the fire had become intense enough that the battalion chief ordered the interior firefighting crews outside the house.

Shortly- a fourth pumper that had been dispatched arrived with a water supply- and the fire in the Priest family home was declared under control at 2:25 a.m..


The KSHB story notes that not only was one of the relatively-few fire hydrants in that area dead- but that there are more than 800 defective hydrants throughout KC-MO..

That's when the daily leaking/breaking water mains aren't making other hydrants useless.


Reporter Hawley's story states that city water rates will go up $9 per month to help alleviate those issues.


Still- one wonders how many new hydrants- streets with curbs and stormwater drainage and sidewalks a proposed $100-million or so the City of KC-MO wants to spend on a streetcar system downtown could buy.

CSW BREAKING: Monday Afternoon Brings (Justifiable?) Homicide Number 34 in Kansas City MO

The streets of inner-city KC-MO are more dangerous than Afghanistan...


Today at 2:16 p.m.- KC-MO Metro Zone police got a call of yet another shooting in the 5800 block of Garfield.


Police arrive at 2:19 p.m.- confirming one person shot- and his wounds are reported to be "life-threatening."


Police report this happened during a "home invasion" and the shot male and at least one other suspect were responsible for the crime.


The only suspect info broadcast was that of a "black male... in his early 20's... had dreds (dreadlocks)..." and a clothing description who ran from the scene after his partner-in-crime was shot.


The 'partner-' "a 20 to 25-year-old male" victim with "multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen-" according to KCFD EMS-522-  was taken to a Metro hospital in very critical condition.

The male was pronounced dead at Research.

Apparent Suicide Victim Found At Garage Fire in Cass County MO

Just before 11:30 p.m. Saturday night- firefighters from Pleasant Hill- South Metro- Prairie Township and the Central Cass departments were called to a reported "structure fire- detached garage on fire" in the 18200 block of BB Highway- which sits between Pleasant Hill and Raymore in northern Cass county.


When fire crews arrived- they found heavy flames coming from the garage- but then they also report finding a nearby house "heavily-charged with (natural) gas" and a male dead on the "back patio" with what at least two fire commanders stated was "a self-inflicted gunshot wound."


The medical examiner was called to deal with the deceased man- and about 15 minutes after arrival fire crews reported having the scene "secure" and began attacking the garage fire- which destroyed that structure but did not spread to the house.


The entire incident is being investigated by the Cass County Sheriff's Department. 

Drive-By Shooting Homicide in Kansas City MO's Westport District

A male who was in serious to critical condition at a Kansas City hospital after a shooting in Westport died less than an hour ago at St. Luke's.

The incident occurred about 1:46 a.m. when a 20-year-old male was shot in the parking lot of the Sunfresh grocery store at 4001 Mill Street.


Police report a witness telling them a possible suspect vehicle was "a burgundy (colored) SUV" that sped "north on (Southwest) Trafficway- but little other information to release publicly yet. 


No one else was reported injured in the incident- which taped-off a large part of the Sunfresh lot.


This is homicide Number 33 of 2012....