Nearly 20,000 left without power as strong winds persist through Kansas City metro
Nearly 20,000 customers remained without power late Wednesday morning as howling winds from a powerful winter storm blew through the Kansas City metro area, utilities reported.
Evergy reported nearly 15,000 customers were without power as of 11:15 a.m., down from as many as many as 21,209 customers without power four hours earlier.
The hardest-hit areas continue to be Jackson County, where 5,978 customers were without power, and Johnson County, where 5,052 customers had no power. Clay County was a distant third, with 1,214 customers still without power.
Evergy reported that crews were responding to overnight outages caused by the weather, but restoration efforts would be delayed due to the ongoing storm. Estimated restoration times were unavailable.
With wind gusts over 50 mph in the forecast, Evergy said additional outages might occur with the high winds impacting trees, utility poles and power lines.
Poor road conditions slowed crews, making it take longer to get to areas affected by power outages. Evergy urged people to move over and slow down if they see utility crews working to give them space to work safely.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities reported that 3,050 customers were without power, down from 5,750 customers earlier. Independence Power & Light had 1,237 customers without power, down from 1,266 customers earlier.
How strong were the winds in the Kansas City area?
According to the National Weather Service in Kansas City, the overnight storm packed powerful winds that reached 70 mph. Here’s a look at some of the highest measured wind gusts from overnight:
- 70 mph in rural Leavenworth County
- 66 mph in St. Joseph
- 65 mph in Pleasant Hill
- 63 mph in Olathe/Gardner
- 62 mph at Kansas City International Airport
- 58 mph at Cameron
- 53 mph at Lee’s Summit and Kirksville
- 52 mph at Chillicothe
A high wind warning remains in effect for the Kansas City area and portions of east-central and northeast Kansas and north-central, northwest and west-central Missouri until 6 p.m.
Sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph are expected, with the possibility of gusts up to 65 mph.
“Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines,” the weather service said. “Travel will be difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles.”
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 7:55 AM.
