Our unsettled weather pattern may finally be settling down — at least for a few days — but there’s one more round of potential severe weather and heavy rain to go before we catch a break.
TV-13 meteorologist Doug Meyers anticipates a round of severe weather developing by mid-afternoon at the latest. Strong storms could also be coming across the area by the time many of you head home from work.
Large hail — up to egg size — is the main threat. Spotty heavy rain is also likely, meaning another round of flash flooding and overall flooding is possible as well.
Cleanup continues in Dunlap, where early Monday storms blew the roof off a barn. Cleanup also continues along the Lyon-Chase county line about two miles north of US Highway 50 after a shed was destroyed and several trees were damaged.
Small-town flooding impact
The rain, including up to half-an-inch late Sunday night and early Monday, has caused some headaches for nearby communities that are battling their third round of flooding over the past five weeks. Neosho Rapids maintenance specialist Bill Smith says floodwaters are starting to move towards a sewer lift station and are covering part of an old highway near the Flint Hills Wildlife Refuge.
In LeRoy, one of two Coffey County towns with at least some floodwaters impacting the community, Road Supervisor Aaron Copeland says there isn’t a widespread impact on residents in terms of flooded housing, but there is when it comes to travel. Copeland says it has taken some folks around 30 minutes to go a total of three miles because flooding has limited access to the town.
Reports from Hartford, Burlington and Fall River are currently pending. Burlington City Hall will work temporarily out of the former Lyon-Coffey Electric headquarters at 1013 North Fourth until further notice. Normal business hours will apply.
Roads
For four-wheel vehicles, road closure lists have stayed pretty uniform since Friday:
*Kansas Highway 99 remains closed until further notice from Emporia’s south city limits to Road 130. Access to Old Highway 99 bridge and All Veterans Memorial is now closed until K-99 reopens, and Commercial Street is closed to thru traffic from Logan Avenue to Soden’s Grove until further notice. The David Traylor Zoo remains open, but access is on the east side of the facility by using Logan Avenue and South Exchange.
Other road closures:
*2100-2200 blocks Rd 40
*170 between Y & Z
*Road 250 between Roads D & F
*Road H between Roads 130 & 140
*300 block X
*300, 400 and 500 blocks Y
Chase County
*Numerous county roads
Coffey County
*Kansas Highway 58 from Oxen to Planter east of US Highway 75 now has KDOT crews flagging traffic through that zone.
Greenwood County
*Kansas Highway 99 is open. However, KDOT is monitoring an area over Slate Creek near Hamilton because flash flooding has eroded the shoulder’s edge and started to undermine the highway surface. Channelizers are reducing the lane width at that location, and KDOT is reducing the total weight limit.
*Numerous county roads
Rivers
Several river gauges remain in flood through the KVOE listening area.
The Cottonwood is still in flood at Emporia. The river is at 24.5 feet, above flood stage of 20 feet. The river is slowly falling and may drop below flood stage before noon Thursday.
The Neosho is also in flood from Neosho Rapids southeast to LeRoy.
*At Neosho Rapids, the river is at 25.53 feet, above flood stage of 22 feet, and falling. The river may drop below flood stage Saturday morning.
*At Burlington, the river is at 31.63 feet, above the flood stage of 27. It may drop to 31.2 feet Wednesday and hold for several days.
*At LeRoy, the river was last observed at 28.25 feet, above flood stage of 23 feet. The river drops to 27.5 feet Wednesday and then hold steady through the upcoming weekend.
Flood warnings for the Cottonwood at Cottonwood Falls and Plymouth have been cleared. So has a flood warning for the Neosho at Emporia. A flood warning continues for Greenwood County until 10:30 pm Wednesday.
Lakes
Flooding continues downstream of John Redmond Reservoir through Burlington and LeRoy. The Army Corps of Engineers is holding releases out of John Redmond at around 29,000 cubic feet per second. Voluntary evacuations are still highly encouraged in Burlington and LeRoy with the releases to continue until further notice.
In Greenwood County, releases out of Fall River Reservoir are down substantially from the 36,000-cubic feet mark over the weekend. Releases now are less than 4,200 cfs.
In Osage County, Melvern Lake is less than three feet shy of flowing uncontrolled through a spillway near Outlet Park. Lake levels have gradually climbed since Outlet Park was closed Saturday.
Stay with KVOE and KVOE.com for updates. Join KVOE’s social media accounts on Twitter@kvoeam1400 or Facebook@kvoenews for instant weather and travel alerts if you have not already done so. Also, make sure to download the free KVOE mobile app so you have our severe weather coverage wherever you may be.
Photos by Teri Jacob
{gallery}Storms Traci Jacob 052719{/gallery}
