40 years ago: Violent storms bring heavy rain to Lawrence area / LJWorld.com

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Sept. 26, 1973:

Autumn had officially begun this week, but Kansas weather was still behaving in a summer-like fashion. Strong thunderstorms had moved across the state on the previous day, bringing at least 20 tornadoes to north-central parts of the state and dumping 2.3 inches of rain on Lawrence. The storms had caused at least five known fatalities in the state, with two additional persons still unaccounted for this morning at Clay Center, where a tornado had hit at about 8 p.m. The twister had plowed a two-block path down a main street, demolishing a church, a Co-Op elevator, and a supermarket. Red Cross reports indicated about 100 Clay Center homes and buildings destroyed and another 200 with major damage.
The latest storm was assisting 1973 in becoming one of the wettest years on record for Lawrence. September's rainfall total to date of 9.88 inches was already triple the normal amount. So far this year 45.74 inches of rain had fallen on the city; the normal annual total was 34.57 inches. Fall harvest and winter wheat planting was affected by the recent storm, and with several drainage ditches washed out or simply overwhelmed, many city streets, county roads, and bridges were closed this morning. Most area towns reported that rain was still falling at noon, and more rain was expected tonight and probably tomorrow.

40 years ago: Violent storms bring heavy rain to Lawrence area