Severe thunderstorms pound Kansas City area on 1st official day of summer
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Summer is not off to a great start in the Kansas City area of Missouri as severe weather pounded the region on Friday morning.
Floodwaters forced water rescues throughout Kansas City, Missouri, as damaging winds and large hail accompanied a dangerous thunderstorm complex hammering the region.
Power outages and road closures due to fallen trees and floods are among the impacts from the storms.
Water rescues reported throughout Kansas City due to flooding on Friday morning. (Twitter photo/ Kansas City Fire Department)
At the Kansas City International Airport, the wind gusted to 54 mph just after 7:00 a.m., local time, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Bill Deger.
Around the same time, numerous trees were reported down around the metro area, with wind gusts estimated to be around 60 mph in some areas. KCP&L reported that more than 18,000 customers were affected by outages as of 8:30 a.m., local time.
Some traffic signals were out across the city on Friday morning.
The powerful wind is not the only weather element causing problems. As the storm dropped significant amounts of rain in a very short period of time, serious flooding ensued in the area.
"About 1.5 inches of rain fell in just under an hour's time, leading to some highway and poor-drainage flooding," Deger said.
Several water rescues were performed as a result of the flooding, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Kansas City.
"Water Rescues happening all over Kansas City. Please don't drive through flooded areas! Just 2ft of water can carry a car away," the Kansas City Fire Department said on Twitter on Friday morning.
Water rescues reported throughout Kansas City due to flooding on Friday morning. (Twitter photo/ Kansas City Fire Department)
Widespread flooding is making travel difficult on Friday. A water main break and sinkhole in Meriam, Kansas, led to the closure of Westbound 67th Street from SB I-35 to Carter. Another massive water break was reported near 31st Street and Southwest Boulevard in Kansas City.
Hail of various sizes was also reported across Kansas City. In the Waldo neighborhood, there were reports of pea-sized hail; meanwhile, on the Kansas side, hail reached quarter size or bigger.
The region is expected to face more rounds of severe weather this weekend.
"Flooding, especially in low-lying and poor-drainage areas, will return with the additional thunderstorms over the weekend," Deger said.
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