As expected, high winds have caused widespread issues across the KVOE listening area Friday.
Grass fires started in Lyon County shortly before 1:30 pm. Brush fires developed along US Highway 50 near Road G and the Emporia RV Park, followed in short order by a fire at the Lyon County Transfer Station and the 1300 block of Road 175. An additional fire was reported near Roads 140 and F shortly before 4 pm.
No structural damage has been reported with any of the Lyon County fires. Other details are currently pending.
Elsewhere across the KVOE listening area:
*Chase County reported several small grass fires Friday afternoon. No structural damage has been reported so far.
*Coffey County has reported at least seven grass fires. Further details are pending.
*Greenwood County has been “busy” with an unlisted number of grass fires through the afternoon. There has been no structural damage reported.
The other main concern has been power outages — and there have been a lot of outages and affected customers.
At one point, over 4,000 Evergy customers in Lyon and surrounding counties were offline. Most were without power in Greenwood County, where over 3,000 customers lost powert between Madison to Eureka. Hundreds of customers were offline in Chase and Coffey counties at times Friday afternoon.
4 Rivers Electric Cooperative had its own issues after several delivery points, including the one at Virgil, lost power around 1 pm. The company had to repair its large transmission line south of Emporia and restored power to Virgil shortly after 4 pm.
Meanwhile, there has been other damage. One roof was reportedly blown off an outbuilding near Reading.
Wind gusts have been as high as 64 mph near Emporia and Olpe.
3:30 pm Friday: High winds trigger multiple outages throughout listening area Friday
High winds throughout the day have left thousands of utility customers offline across the KVOE listening area.
The largest outages for Evergy customers are along South Kansas Highway 99 from Madison to Eureka affecting more than 3,000 customers in the area. Smaller scale outages have been reported in Emporia, along US Highway 50 between Lyon and Chase counties and beyond as well as minor outages in neighboring communities.
Wind speeds have been steady between 30-40 mph throughout the day with gusts as high as 53 mph reported at the Emporia Municipal Airport. Winds could gust as high as 60-70 mph in the late afternoon to early evening hours according to the National Weather Service.
Chances of showers and storms are also in the forecast, however, no severe weather is expected at this time. A high wind warning remains in place for Lyon, Coffey and Osage counties until 7 pm.
A red flag warning, meaning no burning is permitted, is also in place for all area counties through 9 pm Friday.
2:30 pm Friday: WEATHER: Area firefighters respond to series of brush fires Friday
Local fire crews are in the process of handling various brush fires that have developed across Lyon County.
The first fire was reported around 1:30 pm at the intersection of West Highway 50 and Road G, just to the west of the Emporia RV Park and campground, for a brush fire. The fire developed in the southeast portion of the property and was spreading to the east as crews were toned out.
Shortly after, crews were called to a brush fire at the Lyon County Transfer station at 3100 West South Ave. The third fire was reported just after 2 pm at 1709 Road 175, 10 miles east of Emporia. Crews cleared that scene just after 2:20 pm.
Full details are currently pending.
Stay with KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media for more information as it becomes available.
10:42 am Friday WEATHER: Governor issues disaster declaration due to critical fire danger
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has issued a disaster declaration as a critical fire danger builds across much of the state, including the entire KVOE listening area, for Friday.
Wind advisories areawide will transition to high wind warnings at 1 pm with wind gusts expected between 50-60 mph for the afternoon and early evening hours. Red flag warnings are also underway, signaling extreme fire danger and burn bans for all affected counties until they expire at 9 pm.
High winds Friday could also cause several power outages — with small outages already noted for Evergy customers just northeast of Emporia, in Madison and in Virgil before 11 am — and could well lead to travel issues, especially for high-profile vehicles. Unsecured objects like trash cans will likely get blown around.
A marginal severe weather risk for hail and wind affecting the east half of the KVOE listening area should be eliminated by early afternoon.
We’ll keep you updated on KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media. If you have significant wind-related damage, call KVOE at 620-342-1400 with reports or message the Bluestem Farm and Ranch text line at 620-342-5863 with reports and photos.
8:15 am Friday: Marginal severe weather risk returns to east half of KVOE listening area
On top of the wind-related issues, part of the KVOE listening area has a severe weather risk for Friday morning.
There is currently a marginal severe weather risk for hail and wind affecting the east half of the KVOE listening area.
The severe weather risk rapidly increases further east, with widespread moderate and enhanced risk areas affecting parts of 12 states Friday afternoon and evening.
For the Flint Hills area, numerous wind-related alerts are posted for the rest of Friday. The list can be found below.
5:20 am Friday: Friday’s critical weather picture punctuated by red flag warnings, high wind warnings, wind advisories
Windy and dry conditions are setting up a critical fire danger areawide Friday.
TV-13 meteorologist Doug Meyers says one of the reasons behind Friday’s increased fire danger versus Thursday is an increase in wind speed — as high as 51 mph at the Emporia Municipal Airport on Thursday and possibly 60 mph or higher Friday. Another reason is a wind shift, going from the south on Thursday to out of the west Friday. A third reason: sharply lower humidity levels Friday.
The National Weather Service actually says humidity levels could be under 20 percent at times Friday afternoon.
Outdoor burns are banned areawide with red flag warnings in effect. There are also high wind warnings from 1-7 pm for Lyon and most surrounding counties — with wind advisories areawide until the high wind warnings take effect.
High winds Friday could also cause several power outages and lead to travel issues, especially for high-profile vehicles. Unsecured objects like trash cans will likely get blown around.
We’ll keep you updated on KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media. If you have significant wind-related damage, call KVOE at 620-342-1400 or message the Bluestem Farm and Ranch text line at 620-342-5863.