Covering MetroRegion Kansas City, Missouri and The American Central States ...
FIRST in Kansas City with Breaking News - Weather and Commentary.
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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.
With parts of Metro K.C. receiving more than a foot of rain so far in June- we don't need anymore rain for awhile.
Mother Nature's not reading and heeding though...
This NWS weather radar image from the Topeka KS site shows small thunderstorms developing in and around the Metro- particularily upstream from southwestern Johnson county KS west-southwestward to southwest of Topeka.
Areal movement is east-northeast- so I'm keeping a very wary eye on that mentioned storm activity.
Actually- it was a large statue of Jesus that was struck and burned outside the Solid Rock Church in Monroe- just north of Cincinnati OH..
The statue which stood just over 6 stories tall along Interstate 75 "was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame-" the latter is all that remained- states the Associated Press story.
Evacuations are being conducted at this hour along Indian Creek in Kansas City- MO..
Indian Creek under the 103rdStreet bridge east of State Line
Rainfalls of around 5-inches Monday night sent already swollen creeks and rivers in Metro KC into flood.
Indian Creek was nearly 2 feet over flood stage on 103rd Street west of Metcalf as of 1 a.m. as moderate rain continued to fall
Rainfall rates of more than 2-inches an hour flooded streets in places that normally do not easily flood- such as this video taken near Blue Ridge Boulevard and 107th Street in southeast KC-MO..
There have been at least 10 water rescues of people in cars stranded in high water from central Overland Park KS into southern KC-MO..
Flooding Indian Creek threatens a car dealership's vehicles on 103rd Street between State Line and Wornall
So far- no reports of injuries or anybody swept away.
Just before 3 a.m.- KC-MO Fire and police began evacuating homes north of Indian Creek- from east of State Line to Holmes.
Water was reportedly "surrounding" several houses near 101st Street and Washington and also an apartment complex on 101st Street east of Wornall.
This flood crest on Indian Creek was emptying into the Big Blue River- also forecast for moderate flooding.
We need a break from the rain (we'll get one today)- as according to the Overland Park Stormwatch rain guages- there are 3 locations along Indian Creek that have registered at least 12-inches of rain so far this June.
One location at I-435 at Nall has received more than 13-inches so far this month.
This is on top of a Flash Flood Watch already in effect- Severe Thunderstorm Watch No. 315 is in effect until 3 a.m.- south of a line and including Jefferson- Leavenworth- Wyandotte counties in Kansas- Platte- Clay and Ray counties.
The Watch area runs south to around Iola to Nevada.
Thunderstorms have organized in a line west generally along the Kansas Turnpike- but thunderstorms have also developed over the past hour in the Kansas Metro and are moving into Missouri.
Although the severe t-storm watch forecasts possible large hail and winds at or above 60 mph- I think the torrential rain and flash flooding threat is much more pronounced.
We'll be out getting video of any severe storm damage and/or flooding into Monday morning.
The torrential rains keep coming- with no real end to the current weather pattern in sight- and even the mainstem rivers in the Kansas City MetroRegion are feeling the effects with "near record flooding" of the Missouri near Rulo NE- northwest of St. Joseph MO..
If your property is subject to flash and/or general river flooding- your Captain strongly suggests you act NOW to mitigate those issues before heavy rainfalls arrive.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA 251 PM CDT SUN JUN 13 2010
...THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING RIVER IN IOWA... NEBRASKA...
MISSOURI RIVER AT NEBRASKA CITY AFFECTING FREMONT AND OTOE COUNTIES. MISSOURI RIVER AT BROWNVILLE AFFECTING NEMAHA COUNTY. MISSOURI RIVER AT RULO AFFECTING RICHARDSON COUNTY.
251 PM CDT SUN JUN 13 2010
THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE MISSOURI RIVER AT RULO.
* AT 230 PM SUNDAY THE STAGE WAS 20.1 FEET.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 17.0 FEET.
* MINOR FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND NEAR RECORD FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FORECAST...THE RIVER WILL CONTINUE RISING TO BETWEEN 25 AND 25.6 FEET BY EARLY TUESDAY MORNING THEN BEGIN FALLING.
* AT 25.6 FEET...WIDESPREAD FLOODING WILL ENCOMPASS A VERY LARGE AREA AS THE FEDERAL LEVEES ARE NEARLY OVERTOPPED.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
DO NOT DRIVE CARS THROUGH AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR VEHICLE TO PASS SAFELY. TURN AROUND... DON`T DROWN!
According to rainfall totals so far- parts of southern Metro Kansas City have received more than 8-inches of rain so far this month.
Eight-inch rainfalls- according to this Overland Park (OP) KS "Stormwatch" graphic (click on it for full size)- stretch from southern KC-MO into central and southern OP-KS..
These totals include today's rainfalls through 2:15 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
Flash flood watches remain in effect for Metro Kansas City and much of the MetroRegion through Monday morning- when torrential rains should have moved into Metro KC by then.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is currently in effect until 7 p.m. for the Missouri portions of Metro Kansas City eastward across central and eastern Missouri- including the Quad Lakes area and those Kansas counties that border Missouri- Miami- Linn and Bourbon.
Please- if you encounter blinding rain while driving- find a high spot and pull over and wait it out if you're not familiar with that area's water flow.
Even if you ARE familiar with the area you're driving in- use extreme caution.
Many flash flood deaths occur in so-called 'familiar areas' within 10 miles of the victim's home.
The pump is primed for serious flash flooding across Metro Kansas City as thunderstorms Saturday morning have dropped more than 2-inches an hour in parts of the area.
These CSW YouTube videos are of flash flooding this morning in the Loma Vista area of southeastern Kansas City MO..
If your property is subject to high water problems- we suggest you act today to prepare for possible serious flooding issues later today and overnight into Sunday morning.
Overnight NWS radar-indicated precipitation totals of more than 10-inches were indicated in western north-central Kansas northeast of Colby to near Phillipsburg.
Other areas in Nebraska from near North Platte south and eastward saw heavy rains overnight on top of up to 8-inch amounts Friday morning.
Flash-flood warnings are in effect in Iowa this morning as thunderstorms from Nebraska moved eastward.
Web camera photos of Saturday morning storms north of downtown Omaha NE.
Gulf coast-like humidity levels and warm temperatures today will again bring thunderstorms- possibly severe but certainly with torrential rains- in a Storm Prediction Center forecasted area from the Texas Panhandle across much of Kansas and Missouri- including Metro Kansas City- north into parts of Nebraska and Iowa.
Large hail- wind gusts 60 m.p.h. or greater and maybe an isolated tornado are the usual severe suspects- with a heightened risk of deadly flash flooding just about anywhere in the Central States generally along and north of Interstate 70.
The "slight" severe risk continues over the Central States through Monday- according to the SPC.
The latest 5-Day precipitation total amount for our area is also not promising if you wanted drier weather.
This morning's scattered shower and thunderstorm activity in Metro Kansas City is just priming the pump as far as saturating already moist soils.
More showers and storms will form anytime after about 6 p.m. this evening- with off and on activity expected through Monday morning.
CSW will post any bad weather watches here later today.
Five companies of the KC-MO Fire department rolled out at 2:35 a.m. Saturday morning to a reported apartment building on fire at 3512 Independence Avenue in old Northeast part of the city.
Flames could be seen in the rear of the 2-story structure by the first-arriving fire companies at 2:37 a.m. and they called for help.
By the time the flames had been brought under control at 3:05 a.m.- at least 10 KC-MO fire companies were at the scene- the equivalent of a 2-alarm fire.
During overhaul of the vacant structure- a firefighter suffered a "minor injury" as reported at 3:32 a.m.- and that firefighter was taken by chief's car to a Metro hospital.
No other injuries were reported- and the "suspicious" origin fire is under investigation.
