Heavy rain makes way for series of flood-related warnings across KC area Thursday
Heavy rains with scattered thunderstorms have pounded parts of the Kansas City area, leading to flash flood and flood warnings for the metro Thursday.
“This afternoon we are going to continue to hold on to scattered showers and some rumbles of thunder,” said FOX4 meteorologist Alex Countee, who provides weather updates to The Star.
A swath of storms that are producing heaving rains will be primarily east of Interstate 35 on the east side of the metro around lunch time.
The storms “really aren’t moving too much,” he said. “It’s going to take the majority of the afternoon, even into the evening, to get the heaviest of the rain away from town. I wouldn’t be too surprised if we saw some more flash flood warnings east of I-35.”
By 7 p.m., some scattered showers remain in the metro area, he said.
“As we move into the overnight hours and early into tomorrow, all of that is going to be fading away,” he said.
The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill has issued several flood-related warnings for the the surrounding area.
A flash flood warning is in effect until early Thursday afternoon for southern Clay County and central Jackson County after thunderstorms producing heavy rains swept through the area dumping up to 3 inches of rain in some areas.
With an additional one to two inches of rain possible, some of the cities that could see the flash flooding included Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, Leawood, Raytown, Liberty, Prairie Village, North Kansas City, Mission Hills, Sugar Creek, Buckner, Westwood, Claycomo, Westwood Hills, Sibley, Missouri City and Mission Woods, according to the weather service.
The excessive runoff from the heavy rainfall was expected to cause flooding of small creeks and streams, low-lying urban areas as well as highways, streets and underpasses.
A flood warning was issued for the Little Blue River near Lake City. As of 9:30 a.m., the river was at 16.6 feet. Flood stage is at 18 feet. It was expected to rise near 21.8 feet by evening, falling below flood stage by Friday morning, according to the weather service.
Flash flooding will be possible across the Kansas City region through the afternoon and evening, the weather service said.
River flooding is also ongoing. For the latest river stage information, go to https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=EAX.
Drivers were being urged to turn around if they come across flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles, the weather service said.
There will be a lot of sunshine Friday, as highs climb into the mid-70s, Countee said. Temperatures will gradually warm up through the weekend with highs reaching into the 80s by Monday and near 90 degrees on Tuesday.
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The Star produced this weather update in partnership with the local FOX4 television station. The station’s meteorologists create forecast videos multiple times a day for the newspaper to include in its weather reports.
