Kansas City’s Northland largely escapes major damage after record rainfall

More than four inches of rain drenched parts of the Northland after severe thunderstorms swept through the area Wednesday evening into Thursday.

Flash flood warnings came into effect early Thursday morning across the Kansas City metro. While counties in Kansas saw tremendous downpours affecting homes and businesses, cities north of the Missouri River seemed to have a lighter clean-up.

Clay County sees heavy rainfall

Fortunately, Clay County law enforcement did not have any issues within their patrol area from the storm said Sarah Boyd, a Clay County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.

Riverside officials said they received a little over six inches of rain, according to the City Hall’s weather gauge. The highest recorded rain rate was a little after 2:30 a.m., Thursday morning at a rate of nearly four inches per hour.

“Thanks to all of our crews who have been working and checking on the community throughout the storm to keep folks safe,” said Brian Koral, Riverside’s city administrator.

There were minimal reports of damage or power issues as of Thursday afternoon.

In North Kansas City, officials said there were two vehicles stalled after attempting to drive through high water. Several locations throughout the city are prone to flooding, said Kim Nakahodo, the city’s deputy administrator, but the areas cleared quickly.

North Kansas City’s rain gauges at City Hall reported nearly five inches of rainfall over the last 18 hours, said Nakahodo. The heaviest rainfall in the area was reported around 3 a.m., Thursday morning.

The city received reports of fallen tree limbs in residential areas, but the public works crews were able to clean the debris by Thursday morning.

There were no calls for rescues, according to the city’s fire department.

“The break in the storm gave the stormwater system time to recover,” said Nakahodo.

Liberty Mayor Greg Canuteson said the city has not heard of any major flooding in the area as of Thursday afternoon.

Little to no reports in Platte County

The Platte County Sheriff’s Office said there were no significant issues due to the rainfall received Wednesday night.

“At this time, the anticipated crest of the Platte River will be either Saturday or Sunday and it is not predicted to go above flood stage,” said Capt. Jeffrey Shanks, a sheriff’s office spokesman.

Predicted max is 18.7 feet sometime this weekend, said Shanks.

Parkville officials said they received flooding in their typical areas, such as 6th Street and Crooked Road, causing the road to close, as well as 9 Highway west of Coffey Road.

The city closed Platte Landing Park Trail, which is located around the city’s wetland, due to flooding. As a precaution, the city’s main dog park was closed not because of flooding but to prevent muddy paws.

“Our street crew came in around 3 a.m. to address fallen trees and flooding issues,” said Dean Katerndahl, Parkville’s mayor. “They’re phenomenal.”

The city’s teams and the Parkville Police Department, along with MoDOT, are working together to address flooded areas, he said.

Local businesses in Parkville’s downtown areas did not report any major flood damage.