14 July 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – A powerful storm has left more than 150,000 people without power in Kansas and Missouri as reported by the power company Evergy.
Strong wind gusts blowing at 70 mph knocked down power lines across much of northeast Kansas, putting thousands of people into a massive blackout on Friday, July 14. As the storm system passed through the area, the number of reported outages steadily climbed: Evergy reports there are more than 3,200 active outages with more than 150,000 customers without power.
Severe storms with reports of 80-100 mph winds are crossing Evergy’s service area. As of 4:30 p.m. about 130,000 customers were without power and storms were still active. Line crews across our service area staying on shift and out restoring outages caused by the severe storms Friday afternoon. We expect restoration in the areas most severely impacted to be a multiday restoration effort. In events with widespread outages, individual estimated restoration times are not available.
Gina Penzig, Evergy spokeswoman
Penzig said in an email that storm outages are mostly focused in Johnson, Shawnee, Douglas and Leavenworth Counties. More than 56,000 customers in Missouri are reportedly without power.
Kansas power outages
Johnson County – 62,000
Shawnee County – 17,500
Douglas County – 10,000
Leavenworth County – 3,500
To see Evergy’s outage map, click here. To find out how to report a power outage through Evergy, click here.