WEATHER UPDATE: Cleanup continues after Saturday storms; flash flood watches posted areawide

The weather has not been in a forgiving mood recently. And it doesn’t look like that mood will improve this week.

After two rounds of flooding this month, powerful storms brought wind damage to the KVOE listening area Saturday. And the risk of more heavy rainfall and even severe weather is in the picture, especially early this week.

A flash flood watch covers the entire KVOE listening area through most of Tuesday. National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Wolters says the greatest likelihood for heavy rainfall is after noon Monday.

Severe weather is a possibility as well, with hail and high winds the main concerns for the afternoon and evening hours Monday.

This comes after storms blasted across the area Saturday, bringing winds as high as 86 mph to the Emporia Municipal Airport — the equivalent of Category 1 hurricane or EF1 tornado strength. That led to over 4,000 outages areawide just in the Westar Energy system along with close to 80 outages for Lyon-Coffey Electric. Downed power or cable lines were also reported well after the storms left, with calls coming in as late as 8 pm Saturday.

So far Sunday morning, just two outages are on the Westar map, with both in Emporia. Westar has not yet said whether it plans to continue its scheduled outage at Emporia State University or postpone that work until a later date. Lyon-Coffey has around 35 outages, with most in Lyon County.

Numerous tree limbs and, in some cases, fully-grown trees, were downed as well. Currently, Emporia has six streets and intersections closed due to tree damage, and so far the only Lyon County road closed as a direct result of Saturday’s weather is the 1800 block of Road F. There is no word on when the blocked streets or intersections will be cleared. People with tree issues need to call a private tree company if their damage stays on personal property, calling the city at 343-4225 only if trees or large limbs cross a street — and calling 911 if sparks are visible.

There was other damage as well.

Emporia

*Camper overturned in a yard near 24th and Graphic Arts
*Minor tree damage to Emporia Municipal Airport and Emporia Golf Course

Olpe

*Garage door blown apart and pushed down a street

Southwest Lyon County

*At least two homes damaged. One of the homes had shingles blown off house and the top of a 24-by-48-foot hoop house blown away

Heavy rain also hit the area during the midday time period and returned last Saturday night. Rain totals:

*KVOE studios: 1.2 inches this weekend
*Allen: 1.9 inches this weekend
*Hartford: 0.90 inches this weekend
*Bushong: 2.4 inches this weekend

Rivers came up briefly through the afternoon and evening hours but are still well below flood level.

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. If you have schedule adjustments, call 342-1400 or email kvoe@kvoe.com. If you have storm reports or photos, message the Bluestem Farm and Ranch text line at 620-342-5863 or post to KVOE’s Facebook page.