Triple Murder In Cole Camp

This one strikes too close to home.

Late Tuesday- Missouri Highway Patrol and Benton county authorities were called to a home in Cole Camp- population about 1100 people- where 3 people were found murdered.

The victims were relatives of former inlaws of mine: Donnie R. Luetjen- age 64; Sharon K. Luetjen- age 61; and Taron D. Luetjen- age 15.

These were good people who suffered an end that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

I hope the killer is caught soon- and my deepest condolences go out to both the Luetjen and Harris families.

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Metro K.C. BREAKING WEATHER: Flash Flooding In Johnson County-KS

This traffic camera at 75th Street and Metcalf in Overland Park shows severe flash flooding at that intersection.

All persons driving in Johnson county and Jackson county Missouri should use GREAT CAUTION over the next 2 hours due to torrential rain and flash flooding!

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Severe Thunderstorm Watch No. 354 - Areal Information

Here are counties and cities included in ST Watch No. 354 valid until 3pm.

Also- a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was just issued for southeastern Johnson- northeastern Miami counties in KS and northwestern Cass county Missouri until 10:30 am..

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WATCH COUNTY NOTIFICATION FOR WATCH 354
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
903 AM CDT TUE JUN 9 2009


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 354 IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS

IN KANSAS THIS WATCH INCLUDES 6 COUNTIES
IN EAST CENTRAL KANSAS: JOHNSON KS LINN KS MIAMI
IN NORTHEAST KANSAS: ATCHISON KS LEAVENWORTH WYANDOTTE


IN MISSOURI THIS WATCH INCLUDES 7 COUNTIES
IN WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI: BATES CASS CLAY HENRY JACKSON JOHNSON MO PLATTE


THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF: ATCHISON... BUTLER... CLINTON... EXCELSIOR SPRINGS... HARRISONVILLE... INDEPENDENCE... KANSAS CITY... KANSAS CITY... LEAVENWORTH... LIBERTY... MOUND CITY... OLATHE... OVERLAND PARK... PAOLA... PARKVILLE... PLATTE CITY... WARRENSBURG AND WINDSOR.

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THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 354 IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS


IN KANSAS THIS WATCH INCLUDES 23 COUNTIES

IN EAST CENTRAL KANSAS: ANDERSON COFFEY DOUGLAS FRANKLIN GEARY LYON MORRIS OSAGE SHAWNEE WABAUNSEE


IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS: CLAY CLOUD DICKINSON OTTAWA REPUBLIC WASHINGTON

IN NORTHEAST KANSAS: BROWN JACKSON JEFFERSON MARSHALL NEMAHA POTTAWATOMIE RILEY


THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF: ABILENE... CLAY CENTER... CONCORDIA... EMPORIA... HIAWATHA... JUNCTION CITY... LAWRENCE... MANHATTAN... MARYSVILLE... OTTAWA AND TOPEKA.

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Kansas City Metro BREAKING WEATHER: Severe T-stm Watch Until 3 PM

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has (supposively) issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch (about 30 minutes ago) that will be valid until 3 PM this Tuesday afternoon.

This watch will include the MetroRegion cities of Kansas City- Topeka and Lawrence. No other areal coverage is known- since the SPC has yet to issue any watch graphics.

We'll have several periods of thunderstorms today- with the highest likelyhood of severe weather coming later this Tuesday afternoon and evening.


What I DO have are the latest visible satellite and NWS Doppler weather radar images:

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Metro Kansas City WEATHER: Another "Moderate Risk" of Severe T-stms Nearby

The K.C. Metro is on the northeastern edge of a NWS-SPC forecasted area for severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes later today and tonight.


That moderate risk area (see Image 1) covers a large part of south-central- southeastern and eastern Kansas. All of Metro and all but the extreme northern parts of the K.C. MetroRegion are inside a "slight risk" area for severe storms.


Kansas cities such as Ottawa- Paola- Garnett and Emporia are inside this moderate risk area.

The SPC also mentions the risk of "a few strong tornadoes" in the moderate risk area (see Image 2).


CSW will update this developing weather situation throughout the day....


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

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Metro Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: Woman Critically Injured In Fairway-KS Shooting

Fairway and several other Kansas suburban police departments have closed off an area in Fairway after a shooting there.

The incident was in the 6200 block of Glenfield- where a woman painting a house was reportedly shot in the head by a white male suspect named Tom Grammer.

The woman gunshot victim- in her 40's- was taken to an area medical trauma center with a massive head wound- condition grave.

Police are seeking the Grammer suspect: a white male in his 40's- height 5-foot- nine-inches with short brown hair with a receeding hairline- driving a possible blue Dodge Dakota or Durango pickup truck with Oklahoma license plates.

Police think this is some sort of domestic dispute.

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"Radar-Indicated Tornado in Cow County"- Overblown TV Weather Hype

You know the scenario: You sit down to actually watch some network programming on television- trying to watch the screen around little maps and banners- then it's flat-out wall-to-wall weather.

The warning is for a "radar-indicated" tornado and the county affected has less people living in it than my neighborhood. Not only that- the storm's more than 50 miles away moving away.

None of that bothers me. Long ago I gave up on network TV programming and if bad weather is around there's the computer and/or NWS weather radio.

I didn't post on last night's weather situation after the watch was issued because there wasn't really anything threatening the Metro or anyone else of consequence.

Gary Lezak said it best during one of his weather cut-ins during a commercial break on last night's severe weather: "Ninety-nine percent (of the viewing area) won't see any tornado."

More like 99.999% of last night's viewers didn't even experience a thunderstorm until late last night.

It's come down to whom to warn and how to warn them.

If a confirmed tornadic supercell thunderstorm is bearing down on the heavily-populated Metro- sure- go wall-to-wall with your weather coverage.

If a radar-indicated tornado is reported in Cow County- more than 50 miles away from your populated primary area of responsibility and moving away- give your viewers a break.

It MAY be cheaper in the long run to send the few thousand cloud-spotting-challenged residents of Cow County a weather radio than to piss off more than a million potential viewers.

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K.C. Metro-MetroRegion WEATHER: Tornado Watch No. 342 In Effect Until 11 PM - KS-MO-NE-IA

Most of Metro Kansas City and that part of the northern K.C. MetroRegion shown is included in Tornado Watch Number 342 until 11 PM this Sunday night.

Metro K.C. counties of Miami & Linn in KS and Cass and Johnson in Missouri are NOT included in this watch.

Thunderstorms developing rapidly over north into east-central Kansas will increase in number & intensity over the next few hours. Movement will be from the west and southwest- possibly from the northwest later tonight.

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

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Tips For When The Power Fails

Though most of the Kansas City MetroRegion has been spared this widespread problem so far this year- power failures and outages too often occur.

Here are some helpful tips when the power goes out- courtesy of FEMA:


When the power fails, resist the temptation to call 9-1-1 for information - that's what your battery-powered radio is for.

Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to prevent food spoilage.

Turn off electric appliances to protect against power surges when power is restored. Turn off all lights but one (to alert you when power resumes).

Plan on cell phones or corded phones for emergency calls—cordless phones require electricity.

Keep your car fuel tank at least half-full (gas stations rely on electricity to power their pumps).

Candles can be dangerous fire hazards. Flashlights and electric lanterns are safer by far.

Battery operated radios and (alarm) clocks are other essentials, along with a supply of fresh batteries. If electric wheel chairs or electric life support devices are part of the equation, consider extra battery packs or a prearranged agreement from local police or fire stations for priority support.

Never use a portable generator in a garage, carport, basement, crawl-space or other enclosed or partially-enclosed area, even with ventilation. If you start to feel sick, dizzy, or weak while using a generator, get to fresh air immediately. Install home Carbon Monoxide alarms that have battery back-up. Store fuel safely.

When the power comes back on, wait a few minutes before turning on major appliances to help eliminate problems that could occur if there's a sharp increase in demand. If you think that electric power has been restored to your area but your home is still without power, call your local power company.

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Metro-MetroRegion K.C. WEATHER: "Moderate Risk" Of Severe T-stms and Tornadoes Later Today

Metro Kansas City as well as much of the northern Kansas and Missouri MetroRegion is under a "moderate risk" of severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes later today through Monday morning.


The greatest risk of severe weather will be later this Sunday afternoon into evening. This risk area includes the Kansas City- St. Joseph- Maryville- Chillicothe and Bethany-MO areas- as well as Kansas cities as Lawrence- Atchison- Leavenworth- Emporia & Topeka.


This is a potentially dangerous weather situation that bears close watching if you will be outdoors later today.


Meanwhile- a strong thunderstorm continues to move along the river areas of Metro Kansas City- no severe weather has been reported but cloud to ground lightning can be expected along with heavy rain.


CSW will post the latest on this and any later developments....

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Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: Jumper Closes I-435 At Missouri River in KC-MO

KC-MO police have closed northbound- and they just closed southbound I-435 as well at the I-435 bridge over the Missouri River after the driver a vehicle they were pursuing stopped- got out- and threatened to jump off the bridge.

Northbound is closed at Front Street and southbound is closed at M-210.

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UPDATE 0227 CDT: At 2:09 AM- KC-MO reported the jumper was in custody and officers were opening I-435 at the Missouri River bridge.

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