After several rounds of thunderstorms from around sunrise through midday, more rainfall is expected overnight.
Flash flood watches affect Lyon and all surrounding counties from Wednesday evening until noon Thursday. Already, there have been some notable rainfall totals:
*KVOE studios: 1 inch
*Emporia Municipal Airport: 0.65 inches
*Olpe: 2 inches
*West Coffey County: 1.75 inches
Street ponding developed in parts of Emporia, and the Flinthills Mall parking lot had several inches of water during the heavy rain.
Crashes
One injury crash happened during heavy rain on the Kansas Turnpike on Wednesday morning. The Highway Patrol says 28-year-old Robin Becker of Belle, Missouri, was driving a car southbound in the outside lane when he lost control near mile marker 145, two miles southwest of the Admire-Council Grove exit, and hit a southbound pickup driven by 32-year-old Mosses Sidhu of Wiggins, Colorado. Becker was taken to Newman Regional Health for treatment after suspected minor injuries, while Sidhu was not hurt. A separate crash at mile marker 138, almost directly between the Emporia and Admire gates, was originally called in as an injury crash but nobody was hospitalized afterward.
Separate injury crashes were reported on the Kansas Turnpike at mile marker 145, near the Admire-Council Grove exit, and at milepost 138, almost directly between the Emporia and Admire tollgates. Details are pending with both wrecks. Heavy rain was falling on the Turnpike when the crash happened, but the Turnpike Authority has not confirmed whether the rain was a factor in either case.
Power outages
Two notable power outages developed after storms moved across the area. Westar Energy says nearly 100 customers went offline just southwest of Lebo a bit before 8 am. That outage has been restored. Lyon-Coffey Rural Electric reports almost 40 customers were offline about five miles east of Emporia after an outage developed shortly after 7 am.
Schedule adjustments
There has been at least one schedule adjustment:
*Emporia Recreation Commission adult softball is postponed to Aug. 14.
If storms redevelop as expected, there is a risk of flooding, especially during the overnight hours. The National Weather Service says some people in east-central and northeast Kansas could get anywhere from two to six inches of rain. On top of that, there is currently a slight risk of severe weather, mainly in the form of high wind or hail.
We’ll keep you updated on KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media. Make sure to be part of KVOE’s social media network on Facebook@kvoenews or Twitter@kvoeam1400 if you have not already taken that step. If you have schedule adjustments, call KVOE at 342-1400 or email kvoe@kvoe.com.
Click here for KVOE News’ prior coverage from Wednesday.
Photos by Jesse Dains
{gallery}Storms Jesse Dains 080719{/gallery}
Photo by Dave Harding
{gallery}Storms Dave Harding 080719{/gallery}
Photo by Brian Keith
{gallery}Storms Brian Keith 080719{/gallery}
