Power outages linger following overnight storms

In Douglas County, more than 200 remain without electricity

5:52 a.m.As of 5:52 a.m., Westar Energy was reporting 219 power outages in Douglas County, the majority near the intersection of Sixth and Iowa streets.

5:22 a.m.The number of Westar Energy customers in Douglas County without electricity has risen to 515.

4:12 a.m.According to Westar Energy, 503 of its Douglas County customers are lacking power. Several locations in Lawrence have been affected by the outages, including an area near the intersection of 15th and Massachusetts streets.

3:45 a.m.The National Weather Service has called off a severe thunderstorm watch for Douglas and surrounding counties that was intended to run through 5:00 a.m. At this time, 318 Westar Energy customers in Douglas County are without power.

3:00 a.m.The number of Westar Energy customers without power in Douglas County has risen to 267. The area’s only current severe weather alert is a severe thunderstorm watch set to expire at 5:00 a.m.

1:56 a.m.According to Westar Energy’s latest tally, 205 Douglas County customers are without power.

1:33 a.m>According to Douglas County dispatch scanner traffic, traffic signals at the intersection of Sixth and Rockledge streets are without power. According to Westar Energy, four customers are currently without power in Douglas County.

1:24 a.m.The National Weather Service has issued a significant weather alert for Shawnee, Jackson and Jefferson counties set to expire at 2:15 a.m. A thunderstorm moving through the area could include strong winds in excess of 50 miles per hour.

11:11 p.m.The National Weather Service has placed Douglas County under a severe thunderstorm watch effective until 5:00 a.m. Monday. The tornado watch has officially ended for Douglas County.

10:59 p.m. As expected, the National Weather Service has extended the tornado watch for the counties along the Kansas-Nebraska border, but the tornado watch for Douglas County will expire at 11 p.m.

The watch also covers Jefferson, Shawnee and other nearby counties and will be allowed to expire there as well.

10:26 p.m. A mesoscale discussion, a tool the National Weather Service uses to alert the weather community to future watches and warnings, has been issued covering Douglas County.

In the discussion, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center indicates it will likely extend the tornado watch covering Douglas County past 11 p.m., its current scheduled conclusion.

The extension is primarily for a line of severe storms that have developed along the Kansas-Nebraska border, according to the weather service. It’s not yet know if Douglas County will be included in the extension.

Check back to LJWorld.com for more.

8:39 p.m. 6News Chief Meteorologist Matt Elwell reports that as sunset nears, the largest potential is for large hail and damaging winds, with a “slight” chance of tornadoes still throughout the area.

When the sun goes down, Elwell said, the chance of major instability lessens.

8:12 p.m. In the latest forecast from the National Weather Service, the bullseye for severe weather continues to be over an area that includes Douglas County.

The chance of a tornado, however, has diminished but remains elevated, while the chance of large to very large hail remains the same and the chance of damaging winds is strongest over an area that also includes Douglas County.

According to the Storm Prediction Center, two lines of storms are moving toward Northeast Kansas, one from the Rocky Mountains and one from southcentral Kansas. Both have the potential to ignite severe storms over the Douglas County area, which could lead to damaging winds and or large hail. For that reason, the Storm Prediction Center elected to leave the ‘moderate’ risk in place.

Storms are currently located in western Kansas along I-70 moving east, northeast, while another line is located along the Kansas Turnpike moving west, northwest.

Keep checking LJWorld.com for the latest information.

7:16 p.m. The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center is considering whether to issue a new severe thunderstorm watch for an area of eastern Kansas including Douglas County. A line of severe storms ignited southwest of Wichita and is moving northeast.

The tornado watch continues to be in effect until 11 p.m.

Keep checking LJWorld.com for all the latest severe weather information.

5:49 p.m. A tornado watch has been issued for areas east of Douglas County, including Johnson County, and now includes all of the Kansas City metro area and much of western Missouri.

At this point, virtually all of eastern and central Kansas are covered by either a severe thunderstorm or tornado watch.

Stay with LJWorld.com for all the latest news.

5:10 p.m. The National Weather Service in Topeka has issued a new severe thunderstorm watch for areas not currently covered by the tornado watch, including Franklin County, as well as areas west and south of the existing tornado watch.

The tornado watch for northeast Kansas continues until 11 p.m.

A tornado warning and a severe thunderstorm warning were also issued for a strong storm moving along the Kansas-Nebraska border. Currently, no storms are moving toward Douglas County and the surrounding area.

More information as it develops at LJWorld.com.

3:52 p.m. The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for much of northeast Kansas until 11 p.m. Sunday night.

The watch includes Douglas, Shawnee, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Wyandotte and Johnson counties, among others.

A line of storms was building north and west of Topeka with the potential to become severe.

Keep checking LJWorld.com for more updates.

3:15 p.m. update With their latest forecast, the National Weather Service has continued the moderate risk for severe weather over Douglas County and other areas of NE Kansas, particularly areas along and north of I-70.

While the strongest threat continues to be for hail, there is a significant risk of damaging winds and tornadoes.

The weather service is currently considering a tornado watch for much of northeast Kansas. According to the storm prediction center, the possibility exists for rapid development of severe weather as early as 4 or 5 p.m.

As a reminder, moderate risks are themselves issued sparingly. While the spring time brings a large number of “slight” risks for severe weather over an area, moderate risks are issued when the chance of hail, damaging wind or tornadoes are significantly higher that a greater alert level is needed.

Stay with LJWorld.com for all the latest severe weather information.

11:45 a.m. update The latest outlook from the National Weather Service continues to indicate a moderate risk for severe weather over northeast Kansas and surrounding areas, including Douglas County.

The highest probability is for large to very large hail, with the chance for tornadoes and damaging winds still present, according to the weather service.

The main threat for severe weather continues to be in the late afternoon through the evening and early overnight hours.

The next update from the weather service is expected about 3 p.m.

10:04 a.m. The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., has declared a “moderate” risk for severe weather for a swath of northeast Kansas, northwest Missouri, extreme southeast Nebraska and extreme southwest Iowa.

According to the National Weather Service, the greatest likelihood of severe weather occurs between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., however a chance of severe weather exists for much of the day.

Moderate risks are themselves issued sparingly. While the spring time brings a large number of “slight” risks for severe weather over an area, moderate risks are issued when the chance of hail, damaging wind or tornadoes are significantly high that a greater alert level is needed.

The next update from the National Weather Service is expected about 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

Stay with LJWorld.com throughout the day to stay up-to-date on all the severe weather.