From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for August 19, 1974:

A strong storm, with hail and high winds, had swept out of Nebraska and through parts of Kansas over the weekend, leaving hundreds of farm homes and buildings and several thousand acres of crops damaged or destroyed. The storm, which hit hardest in Blue Rapids, Kansas (about 50 miles north of Manhattan), and Stockton, Missouri, had brought hail and winds measured in some areas at 100 miles per hour. The Kansas Farmers Home Administration and Small Business Administration were beginning surveys to determine areas eligible for federal disaster loans after initial damage estimates were figured at between $50 million and $100 million. In Lawrence, lightning, thunder, and high winds had seemed to promise torrential rainfall, but in the end, the city only received .26 of an inch of rain. Trees and limbs were down in some parts of town, and one tree had caused an estimated $150 damage to the front fender and windshield of a car in the 1300 block of Kentucky. The storm had also brought some welcome relief from hot temperatures, with the thermometer dropping from 89 to 68 degrees between 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon, and the Sunday morning low dropping to 58 degrees.