Thousands remained without power in Kansas City on Monday after weekend storms

More than 18,000 people in the Kansas City metro area remained without power late Monday afternoon after weekend storms downed trees and power lines.

Nearly 100,000 people across the metro area were without electricity Sunday morning after storms swept through the Kansas City area Saturday night.

As of 4:30 p.m. Monday, about 18,000 Kansas City Power & Light customers were without power. Fewer than 900 Independence Power & Light customers remained without power.

Jeremy McNeive, manager of media communications for KCP&L, said 87 percent of its customers had power and the utility expected to reach 90 percent by midnight.

A small number of customers with severe damage or downed poles will probably not have power restored until Wednesday. More than 1,000 people were working to restore power, McNeive said.

About a quarter of Ward Parkway Center remained without power Monday afternoon.

KCP&L said the storms that brought 70 mph winds and excessive lightning had a cumulative impact of nearly 140,000 customers without power.

Storm damage from the Saturday night storms was widespread. However, northeast Johnson County and midtown Kansas City saw the brunt of the damage.

The city of Independence warned residents to stay away from areas where power lines remain down. It said crews were working as quickly as possible to restore power.

Independence Power & Light estimated that repairs would continue into Tuesday. People who have not yet reported their outages were asked to call 816-325-7550.

The city also said the Roger T. Sermon Community Center at 201 N. Dodgion St. will be open until 9 p.m. Monday for people needing to charge their electronics, shower or rest in a cool place.

The storm shows winds reached up to 80 mph over De Soto and Lenexa. The winds then blew east across the southern sections of the Kansas City metro area.

Those continuing to clean up after the storm got a break from the heat Monday when the temperature peaked at 88 — the first time since July 14 that temperatures haven’t climbed into the 90s, according to the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill.

“Temperatures will rise back into the 90s Tuesday and Wednesday before another round of storms moves through Wednesday night,” the weather service forecast said. “Some of those storms may be strong.”

This story was originally published July 24, 2017 at 7:19 AM with the headline "Thousands remained without power in Kansas City on Monday after weekend storms."