Power Outage in Junction City, KS

Numerous trees and power lines down.

Reports of severe damage from emergency manager, including motel roof blown off and into other buildings, and power outages.

Power line and poles reported down.

Public and EM are reporting numerous tree limbs downed through out town, some as big as a foot in diameter. The tree damage also brought down power lines. Time estimated from radar.

Powerline down in the 100 block of 1st Street.

Fort Riley asos reported. Wind occurred with stratiform precipitation on the backside of an MCS complex. Numerous power lines are down in the city of Junction City.

Westar Energy reports that over two thousand residents were without power in the Junction City, Fort Riley and Manhattan areas early Sunday morning due to downed power lines from ice accumulation of one half to three quarters of an inch.

Wind gusts around 60 mph caused damage to tree limbs as well as numerous power outages.

Power out at Fort Riley. Large trees down in Junction City.

Power lines down in Junction City.

A weather station at Junction City Middle School recorded a 67 mph wind gust. This report was relayed to NWS by the broadcast media. The storm also caused some power lines to be damaged in Junction City.

Strong thunderstorms brought down a few tree limbs, breaking down power lines.

Near Junction City, two trees blew down at a residence with power pole damage. Also near Junction City a shed was blown 30 feet into a tree.

At a residence 5 miles west of Junction City a metal outbuilding was destroyed, and debris was found nearly a quarter of a mile downwind. Closer to Junction City, a gas station lost part of its awning. Trees and power lines were reported down across Junction City resulting in many damaged roofs and cars and widespread power outages.

Trained spotters, law enforcement officers, and emergency management reported 60 to 70 mph wind gusts near Milford Lake in Geary County. In Junction City power lines and transformers were damaged.

A tree fell on the main power line sending electricity to Grandview Plaza just east of Junction City.

One quarter to three quarters of an inch of ice accumulated on surfaces across the county. Nearly 80% of Junction City residents were without left without power, and 65% of the power lines in the city were down. Shelters were set up in Junction City at Spin City, as well as the Municipal Building for local residents, as well as stranded travelers. Around 200 people utilized the facilities the night of the 11th, despite the fact that heat was not available. Over 70% of Geary County residents were without power the morning of the 12th, while only 10% of Chapman was without power the morning of the 12th. 80% of the Fort Riley post was without power between the 11th and 12th, much of which retuned during the afternoon of the 12th. Employees across the county were told not to come to work for safety reasons. Many power poles were broken, and numerous power lines were reported to have been down. Broken tree limbs covered the ground across much of Junction City, and heavily iced branches hung over many city streets. A total of 4500 Westar Energy customers were still without power in Geary County the morning of the 13th. A 90-year-old woman was found dead outside her home in Junction City. The family believes she walked outside, stumbled, and froze.

One thousand, three hundred Junction City residents lost power because of an equipment failure at a local energy company due to high winds at 13:30pm CST. At 14:00 CST, an additional 600 customers also lost power because of wind wrapped power lines. Several roadways were blocked by small downed branches. Aarching power lines were also reported in the city. At least one tree was blown down onto a home, and a second tree split during the afternoon hours after prolonged exposure to the strong winds.

Gusty winds in combination with wet snowfall shifted powerlines enough to cause brief power outages for several hundred customers across portions of Junction City. Several motor vehicle accidents were reported.

This tornado touched down on Fort Riley Army Base approximately 3 miles northeast of Junction City and moved north for one mile before crossing into Riley county approximately 4 miles northeast of Junction City. It produced F1 damage to trees and headstones in the Fort Riley cemetery area. The Fort was without power for several hours. The parent thunderstorm was a mini-supercell.

Strong winds blew down tree limbs and power lines which resulted in some power outages. Two mobile homes were severely damaged.

Warm and dry conditions led to more downburst thunderstorms. This event was more widespread than the downburst events earlier in the month. Reports up to 73 mph were received by the office from an ASOS station in Fort Riley. Also several instances of downed trees, powerlines, and outbuildings were received by the office.

Just days after an ice storm brought one half of an inch to one and a half inches of ice accumulations to portions of northeast Kansas, another potent 500mb low deepened in the southwest United States, and lifted through the central plains Friday the 14th through Saturday the 15th of December. Several homes in cities and rural areas across northeast Kansas were still without power from the ice storm when the snow began Friday. Emergency shelters re-opened in Nemaha County to assist those without power. The heavier snowfall totals were between 6 and 8 inches across Washington, Clay, and Republic counties. Fifteen to twenty mph winds helped to reduce visibilites even more than in just the band of heaviest snowfall. Residents for the most part heeded the heavy snow warnings that were issued. Few traffic accidents were reported, and road crews were prompt and thorough keeping major traffic arteries clear.