photo by: Kim Callahan

Fallen tree limbs rest on a house at 450 Perry St. in North Lawrence on Friday, Aug. 2013, 2021, after an overnight storm.

Updated at 12:58 p.m. Friday

An overnight storm in the Lawrence area with high wind gusts downed multiple tree limbs and utility poles, as well as causing other damage, including lightning strikes and power outages.

Shawn Byrne, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Topeka, said the NWS did not have specific data about wind gusts of the storm in Lawrence, because the storm knocked out power for some of its measuring devices. Specifically, Byrne said power was lost about 2 a.m. for its observation system at the Lawrence airport. However, Byrne said that because the storm knocked down limbs and power poles, he estimates wind gusts were in excess of 60 mph. He said Lawrence received about 4.12 inches of rain, according to a gauge at the University of Kansas Field Station.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A fallen tree limb rests on a house at the corner of Ninth and Connecticut streets Friday, Aug. 2013, 2021, after an overnight storm.

As of about 10 a.m., Evergy outage maps showed about 1,000 customers remained without power in the Lawrence area. Shortly before 12:30 p.m. Friday, Evergy spokesperson Justin Daily said the company estimated that everyone’s power would be restored by 10 p.m.

“We sustained significant wind, tree, and lightning damage,” he said in an email to the Journal-World. “Multiple broken poles, wires down, and transformers down.”

At the peak of the storm, he said 1,800 customers were without power in the Lawrence division.

City spokesperson Porter Arneill said city crews were cleaning up downed limbs from trees in the city right-of-way. That includes trees in the right-of-way area that lines streets in neighborhoods, but not trees that are on private property. Arneill said that residents could call Parks and Recreation at 832-3450 for cleanup of right-of-way street trees and limbs. He said the most tree damage occurred in North Lawrence.

A number of utility poles in North Lawrence had also sustained significant damage, and multiple crews worked Friday to repair them.

The city urged residents to be alert and use caution for downed power lines that may be tangled in debris or lying across the road. People should not go near downed utility lines, and hanging branches can also pose dangers.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A damaged tree is seen Friday, Aug. 13, 2021, just south of the Ninth and Connecticut intersection in East Lawrence following an overnight storm.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Multiple crews were working in the Tee Pee Junction area in North Lawrence Friday morning after an overnight storm downed power poles and caused other damage.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A large tree lies toppled Friday morning at Riverfront Park in North Lawrence after an overnight storm.

photo by: Bill Schmeelk

Damaged power poles could be seen Friday morning north of Lawrence after an overnight storm with high winds blew through the area.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Crews work along U.S. Highway 40 Friday morning just east of Tee Pee Junction after an overnight storm downed power poles and caused outages.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Crews work to repair utility poles Friday morning near Riverfront Park in North Lawrence after a severe overnight storm.