Power Outage in Newton, KS

Newton City County Airport had a measured gust to 59 mph. The emergency manager reported power lines down in multiple places throughout the county.

Multiple power poles were reported down.

Damage to small sheds were reported on the south side of Newton. Multiple power lines are down as are several branches up to 2 inches in diameter.

Damage to trees and power lines was major. The most significant occurred in Newton & Hesston. Though none were reported, it's likely that power outages resulted.

A trained spotter estimated the gust. Power outages also occurred.

Winds of 40 mph and gusts to near 60 mph occurred across the county causing minor issues with trees and power lines.

Ice up to one half inch in diameter was causing limbs and power lines to fall due to the extra weight. The roads were also very slick and several accidents were reported.

Several buildings in and around the community of Walton were damaged, some worse than others. Additionally, some railroad crossings were downed or damaged, along with some power poles, power lines and road signs. The Newton Kansas Contributed to this report.

Straight line winds caused sporadic damage across Newton. Power poles were downed near the outlet mall south of Newton, as well as across other portions of the city. Some structural damage was noted throughout the city as well, most of which was relatively minor, and some trees and tree limbs were downed. The Newton Kansas contributed to this report.

A wintry mix of light to moderate sleet, snow and periodic freezing rain affected the county during the day on the 27th. The wintry mix eventually changed over to all snow from west to east during the evening and overnight hours, and persisted into the afternoon hours on the 28th. Meaningful ice and sleet accumulations were confined to mainly the eastern three-fourths of the county, where sleet accumulated over 2 to 3 inches in some places. Meanwhile, snowfall accumulations exceeded 12 inches over extreme west and northwest portions of the county, where stout north to northeast winds resulted in considerable blowing and drifting of snow, with visibilities occasionally dropping to one-quarter mile or less. Total ice, sleet and snow accumulations over eastern portions of the county ranged from roughly 4 to 8 inches. Treacherous travel conditions lead to multiple accidents in and around Newton, some of which involved injuries, but none were critical. Portions of the roof of a Hesston plant collapsed underneath the weight of the heavy, wet snow. The combination of ice, snow and wind downed several power lines countywide. The Newton Kansan contributed to this report.

A half to one inch of ice accumulated across Harvey County during the ice storm. This resulted in approximately 250 downed power poles and 500 downed lines. Damage to the electrical infrastructure is estimated at $3.7 million. There was also widespread damage to trees but the cost of the damage is unknown.

Several power lines and trees were blown down at the intersection of 1st and Walnut as well as Share Drive and Meridian.

Several signs were blown down along the highway, along with several power poles.

A powerful thunderstorm rolled through Harvey County producing countywide wind damage, mostly to trees. Some trees and tree limbs fell on automobiles. There were reports of mainly minor structural damage, along with street signs and power lines blown down. However, Newton's Westhill Apartment Complex received rather extensive roof damage. Information courtesy of the Newton Kansan newspaper.

Downed power lines severed power to approximately 155-160 residences.

Kansas Gas and Electric (KG & E) reported the strike caused a circuit lockout, severing power to between 4,000 and 5,000 residences. Power was restored later that night.

Widespread tree and power line damage resulted in power losses to about 2,000 residences in and around Newton.

Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms affected portions of central, south-central and southeast Kansas during the afternoon and evening hours on the 18th, as powerful upper level low pressure approached from the west. One-inch diameter hail was reported west of Hesston, and winds close to 60 mph were reported at Coffeyville.