Strong winds blow through KC area, downing power lines, tree limbs

 

Strong winds gusting up to 60 mph were blowing through the Kansas City area late Thursday morning.

Olathe police reported that Rogers Street was closed at Clairborne Road because of a downed power line.

There were other reports of power lines down throughout Johnson County. Winds had reached 56 mph at Kansas City International Airport.

Meanwhile, winds near Gladstone were blowing at 60 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill.

The National Weather Service reported that it had received numerous reports of winds reaching 50 to 60 mph throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area.

The winds were following a cluster of thunderstorms as it moved east and southeast across Kansas.

The Kansas City area remained under a severe thunderstorm warning.

Trained weather spotters reported 60 mph wind gusts in Liberty about 11:20 a.m.

Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from Courtney to five miles north of Archie, Mo.

The main hazard were the wind gusts reaching 60 mph.

KCP&L reported that 11,179 customers were without power as of 11:45 a.m.

Westar Energy had more than 2,000 customers without power in Douglas, Johnson and Leavenworth counties.

The Kansas City, Kan., Board of Public Utilities had about 2,200 customers without power.

The winds, however, started weaken around noon. The National Weather Service said that for the next hour, winds would be up to 50 mph and weakening.

The rain could linger into the afternoon.

The weather is expected to remain unsettled into the weekend, bringing several chances of rain. Widespread rain and strong storms might be possible on Saturday.

This story was originally published June 5, 2014 at 7:44 AM with the headline "Strong winds blow through KC area, downing power lines, tree limbs."