Power Outage in Emporia, KS

Numerous tree limbs and power lines down. One house had a tree fall onto the roof.

Report of several power poles snapped.

Tree limbs 3 inches in diameter broken, power poles broken.

Numerous trees and power lines down.

Two power poles down near Industrial drive.

Delayed report of broken power poles received via a twitter post from Westar Energy.

EM reported numerous large tree limbs down due to ice accumulation throughout the county by Sunday morning. Estimates of anywhere from one quarter to as much as three quarters of an inch of ice accumulation across the county Sunday morning from the long duration event that began late Friday night and lasted on and off through Sunday morning. Sporadic power outages were also reported.

Rain gradually transitioned to a mix of freezing rain and sleet with some snow during the late evening hours of the 27th. One quarter of an inch to one half of an inch of ice was reported to have accumulated across much of the county. A report of one inch of ice was reported to have accumulated in the northeast part of the county, before the precipitation type changed over to all snow during the morning hours of the 28th. Power lines and trees fell due to the weight of the ice, most notably in the Admire, Bushong, and Americus areas. By 7:15am CST, several accidents had been reported along the Kansas turnpike due to slick road conditions. Most roads in the county at that point had not been treated.

A few trees were blown down along 160 Road just south of the city of Emporia. Power was reported to be out across portions of the county.

Five buildings at the Emporia Livestock sales were damaged when severe thunderstorm winds blew across Emporia. The roofs were torn from three sheds, and the debris was tossed several streets away and onto powerlines, which caused sparks. The power was out to several local businesses and residences. Country Mart North also sustained damage to the sign on the front of it's building. A piece of the sign flew across the street and knocked over a portion of fence. Several trees and power lines were also reported down along the damage path. Sheds and local business signs in addition to those above were also reported to have been damaged. Seven hundred and seven people were reported to have lost power.

Ice accumulations of one quarter of an inch to one half of an inch were reported. Countywide, more than 200 Westar Energy customers were left without power. For the most part, Emergency Management reported that the county had escaped relatively unscathed. Minor tree damage was reported, with around ten to twenty trees removed from county roadways.

Power lines and trees reported down. A power outage left homes, businesses, and stop lights without power.

Strong winds downed power poles south of Emporia.

Lightning struck a power line knocking out power for a time.

Strong winds knocked down power poles in Emporia.

Several thunderstorms formed across northeast and east central Kansas on September 7, 2012. Much of the damage was confined to areas of Lyon, Coffey, and Anderson Counties as a bow-echo thunderstorm formed across Lyon County and moved eastward bringing 60+ mph winds and causing damage to trees, power lines, and outbuildings. Aside from the strong wind these storms produced some 1 inch hail.

A powerful storm brought a bout of severe weather to Kansas on April 14th. Severe thunderstorms including supercell storms developed ahead of a dryline and cold front during the afternoon. Moisture was a limiting factor in the coverage and overall intensity of the storms however there was at least one brief tornado and several other funnel clouds that were documented across north central Kansas during the afternoon.

The covective system that developed over northern Missouri during the evening of the 27th dropped southeastward, and into the Topeka warning area. The line of storms was sustained by the increasing low level jet. The storms were able to push out strong wind gusts across east central Kansas. The most significantly impacted town was Gridley, where several power poles were snapped. Power was out in town until the following afternoon.

An upper level low pressure system slid across the Central Plains Friday, the afternoon of the 13th, through Saturday, the morning of the 14th. Rain fell throughout the day Friday across Northeast Kansas. Up to 3 inches of rain was reported to have fallen, before snow and thundersnow mixed in with the rain during the late evening hours Friday, primarily south of Interstate 70. Local snowfall totals ranged from a trace across Shawnee, Douglas, Wabaunsee, and Geary counties, up to 6 inches in Coffey County. Slushy, snow covered roads and heavy rainfall caused numerous traffic accidents and localized power outages across the region over the course of the event. Minor tree damage was also noted in Franklin county, where gusty winds combined with the heavy rain and snow to weaken and break limbs.

Strong winds occurred over parts of the county warning area through most of the day. Many small limbs and a couple of small trees were downed. Extensive tree and property damage was noted. Westar Energy reported that power outages were widespread due to the broken limbs falling on power lines. Gusts of 40 knots were measured but gusts near 50 knots more than likely occurred over open country. This was inferred by the extent of power outages across the area.

Winds not related to thunderstorms reached speeds over 90 mph for a time and did considerable damage to buildings and power lines in the affected counties.