31 May 2023
OTTAWA, Kan. — Rural areas outside the Kansas City metro saw severe weather Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Some of the storm’s heaviest effects were seen in Franklin and Douglas counties, where heavy rain caused flash flooding and high winds toppled trees.
“It went real windy, raining hard. All the ditches were full of water,” said Dustin McClendon, a Lane, Kansas, homeowner.
Lane is home to 244 residents, most of whom were cleaning up after the storm Wednesday.
FOX4’s Weather Team reports 4.5 inches of rain fell in a matter of hours, causing high water in many areas. Strong winds made a mess of many yards and farm spaces.
“Trees were bowing over and twisting. I’ve got trees in the backyard that are as big as these that are all twisted. We’ve got to cut all those up. You see this one up here. The tops are al broken out,” McClendon said.
The Marias des Cygnes River is still 10 feet below flood stage. That river burst from its banks two summers ago and flooded downtown Ottawa.
Thomas Winter, Franklin County’s emergency manager, said he’s watching those river levels, which won’t be a concern until they reach 30 feet.
Winter said he’s keeping a close eye on familiar locations that flood, and on the forecast, which includes several periods of rain over the next few days.
“We’ve got these periods of rain bands that are coming through. That’s one of those things you start watching to see how the river is going to react to those rain levels,” Winter said Wednesday.
“If you run into a flooded area, turn around. Don’t drown. That’s the biggest thing. You don’t know what the road situation is underneath. You may think it’s only a couple of inches of water, but it could be a few feet of water, so avoid it at all costs,” FOX4 meteorologist Karli Ritter said.
Winter recommends using a layered approach to receiving weather alerts, including a weather radio, mobile applications and watching our forecasts at FOX4, which are certified most accurate in Kansas City.