Morning thunderstorm adds another half inch of rainfall to yearly total

Sunday morning’s thunderstorm added another half inch of rainfall to Lawrence’s total this year.

John Woynick, a meteorologist with the Topeka National Weather Service office, said the storm, which moved through the area between 7:30 and 8 a.m., also brought strong winds. The highest wind speed recorded at the official National Weather Service monitoring station at Lawrence Municipal Airport was 58 mph at 7:43 a.m, he said. That station recorded .54 inches of rain from the storm.

A storm two days ago dumped 2.5 inches of rain on the area, bringing the total for the year to just over 10 inches, which Woynick said was in line with past average totals.

The National Weather Service had received reports of tree, roof and power line damage from the winds, Woynick said, with a report of a large tree down in Big Springs in western Douglas County and shingle damage in west Lawrence.

Justin Daily, spokesman for Evergy Energy, said 365 customers were still without power in Lawrence as of 11:30 a.m. Earlier, that number was closer to 700.

Woynick said the weather should now remain clear for the KU commencement, which was rescheduled from the morning to 2:30 p.m. today. The afternoon high will be in the lower 70s.

“That will be nice for those in caps and gowns,” he said. “It will be a bit muggy but not the hot temperatures we’ve seen the last few days.”

Monday’s high is expected to be in the mid-70s, Woynick said. It will warm to the lower 80s on Tuesday and Wednesday and to the upper 80s on Thursday before another front brings another chance of thunderstorms on Friday, he said.

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