Thousands without power as thunderstorms sweep through Kansas City metro
Thousands of customers lost power during Monday’s thunderstorms after high winds and flash floods bombarded Missouri and Kansas in the afternoon.
Evergy reported approximately 33,000 outages in the Kansas City metro at its peak. As of 8:30 p.m., fewer than 20,000 customers remain without power.
“Crews are restoring power as multiple waves of storms move through the area,” the electric company said on its website. “Damage from the strong winds include downed wires and broken poles. Evergy crews began working on repairs and restoring power right away and will continue working through the night.”
Johnson County was the hardest hit area with 4,157 customers losing power, while Jackson County nearly matched at 4,150.
Independence Power and Light reports 918 customers without power. The Kansas City, Kansas Board of Public Utilities has 2,522 customers with no electricity.
Parts of Kansas and Missouri, including the Kansas City metro area, were issued a tornado watch by the National Weather Service until 9 p.m. A flash flood warning was issued around 4:15 p.m. while severe thunderstorm warnings continue throughout Monday night in Kansas and Missouri.
Wind gusts of up to 80 miles per hour were seen at the Johnson County Airport and in Jackson County, the National Weather Service posted on social media.
