Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain in the Southern Plains; Fire Weather Threat in the Southwest U.S.

Thunderstorms, some severe, may produce heavy to excessive rainfall and isolated flooding over portions of the Southern Plains today and Saturday. Dry conditions, combined with gusty winds and low relative humidities will continue to support an elevated to critical fire weather threat in the Desert Southwest into to early next week. Read More >

A slow moving storm system brought a long duration of freezing rain to portions of North Central, Northeast, and East Central Kansas. The event began late Monday afternoon and continued into the afternoon hours on Tuesday. Liquid precipitation amounts ranged from one to three inches over the area. With surface temperatures at or below freezing, combined with a warm layer of air just above the surface, the precipiation fell in the form of freezing rain. Ice accumulated on many surfaces, especially trees and power lines. The most supportive conditions for freezing rain were found in a fairly narrow swath over portions of North Central and Northeast Kansas, where one inch of ice was reported in numerous locations. This led to widespread power outages and trees down. Winds increased to 10 to 15 mph in the overnight hours Tuesday night, causing additional problems as the increased stress from the wind caused further tree and power line damage.

Many schools and businesses were closed across the region due to travel problems as well as widespread power outages.

Photos From Topeka, Kansas