High winds accompanying a late-winter storm that brought light snow left thousands without electrical power Wednesday morning in northeast Kansas.

As of 4:50 a.m., power outages were affecting 2,640 homes and businesses in the Lawrence area, 920 in the Topeka area and more than 61,000 of the customers the electrical utility Evergy serves in Kansas and Missouri, Evergy reported on an online outage map it maintains.

By 8 a.m.., Evergy reported the number of homes and businesses affected had risen to 5,707 in the Lawrence area, dropped to 856 in the Topeka area and decreased to 33,476 for its coverage area.

High winds kicked up late Tuesday afternoon

High winds kicked up beginning late Tuesday afternoon in northeast Kansas, with maximum wind gust readings at Topeka rising from 13 mph about 4 p.m.. to 22 mph about 5 p.m., 38 mph about 6 p.m. and 47 mph about 7 p.m.

The weather service Tuesday evening reported gusts of the following:

•  70 mph four miles south/southwest of Sabetha in Nemaha County and three miles east of Jarbalo in Leavenworth County.

•  69 mph three miles east/northeast of New Cambria in Saline County in north-central Kansas.

•  65 mph six miles south/southwest of Centralia in Nemaha County.

•  And 61 mph five miles north/northeast of Lawrence and three miles east/northeast of Topeka.

Meanwhile, rain that had been falling during the day Tuesday turned to snow early that evening.

Wind, snow brought blizzard conditions

The wind and snow combined to temporarily cause whiteout conditions late Tuesday four miles east of St. Marys in Pottawatomie County, the weather service reported on the website of its Topeka office.

Visibility fell to one-half mile late Tuesday three miles east/northeast of Topeka, it said.

The weather service recorded 1.2 inches of snow late Tuesday and Wednesday at its Topeka office in northeast Topeka near Philip Billard Municipal Airport, said Matt Wolters, a meteorologist with that office.

Other snowfall readings included 1.6 inches at Seneca, 1.5 inches two miles south/southeast of Ozawkie in Jefferson County and 1.3 inches seven miles west/southwest of Topeka.

Sheriff’s office implements accident reporting procedure

Shawnee County Sheriff Brian Hill announced at 6:40 a.m. Wednesday that because of road conditions, his office was implementing its Phase III accident reporting procedure.

During that phase, deputies respond only to scenes of crashes involving injury, possible injury or death; potentially impaired drivers; hit-and-run drivers; disturbances; hazardous materials; major traffic congestion; or enough damage to require a vehicle to be towed.

Drivers were directed to report all other crashes at their earliest convenience at sheriff’s office headquarters at the Law Enforcement Center, 320 S. Kansas Ave.

What’s next?

High winds continued Wednesday morning, with the weather service reporting gusts of up to 56 mph at 4 a.m. at its office in Topeka.

However, a high wind warning issued for the area was set to expire at noon Wednesday.

Winds were predicted Wednesday morning to come from the northwest at 25 to 30 mph, with gusts of up to 50 mph, then decrease Wednesday afternoon to 15 to 20 mph.

Forecasters predicted Wednesday morning would bring Topeka mostly cloudy skies, which would clear up in the afternoon.

Topeka’s high temperature Wednesday was predicted to be about 42 degrees.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City area is navigating the impacts of a significant storm that’s battered the region with rain and gusty winds.

Check back throughout the morning for the latest updates.

LINK | KSHB 41 Weather
LINK | KSHB Closings and Delays
LINK | KSHB Traffic
LINK | KSHB Weather Blogs

Watch KSHB 41 News starting at 4:30 a.m. in the video player below.

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4:30 a.m. | Evergy reports more than 66,000 customers without power this morning. another 3,200 customers are without power in n BPU’s service territory.

4:20 a.m. | Overland Park Police say I-435 and Nall will likely be closed 2-4 hours due to the crash from earlier.

4:10 a.m. | Some flights are canceled out of Kansas City International Airport this morning.

4:05 a.m. | KSHB 41 Meteorologist Lindsey Anderson says roads are slippery as temperatures drop.

3:05 a.m. | Eastbound and westbound I-435 at Roe is shut down. The Overland Park Police Department says a power line across the highway was struck by a semi-truck. The power line pulled down multiple lines onto the highway as well. Police say there were minor injuries. Traffic is being diverted westbound at State Line and eastbound at Nall.

Steve Silvestri

2:15 a.m. | Overland Park Fire Department says one woman had minor smoke inhalation after a fire near 89th and Craig overnight. OP Fire says the fire may have started from a downed power line, but the cause is under investigation.

2:00 a.m. | Thousands of people are currently without power in the Kansas City metro area. Click here to access the latest outage map.

1:00 a.m. | National Weather Service says some of the strongest wind gusts were reported just before midnight near St. Joseph, MO and Jarbalo, KS.

The Kansas City Chiefs are entering free agency with very little salary cap room and the loss of several key defensive pieces.

Thankfully, they won’t have to worry about the future of right guard Trey Smith for the moment, who they have given the transition franchise tag to in hopes of landing a long-term extension.

However, one key player they is likely to test the open market is MIKE linebacker Nick Bolton. This leaves the Chiefs with a need at the position and a lack of depth. As they enter free agency, Kansas City will be looking at all options, including the draft.

Interestingly, general manager Brett Veach has chosen to bring back a linebacker that the team had cut after the 31-0 shutout loss in the regular season finale to the Denver Broncos, Blake Lynch. Lynch was one of the more productive players in the team’s loss, posting six tackles and one tackle for loss in a game that saw multiple key starters rest after locking up the No. 1 seed in the AFC on their way to a Super Bowl appearance.

Lynch has had a journeyman career after playing in his first 20 games with the Minnesota Vikings in 2020 and 2021. He was then let go in 2023 before signing with the Los Angeles Chargers where he spent a year and a half and had four tackles in the seven games he appeared in. Lynch was then let go again in 2024 before signing with the Chiefs practice squad in the middle of their season.

In his four years in the NFL, Lynch has racked up 57 tackles while proving to be a depth player and special teams asset. With Bolton heading to free agency, there is a chance Lynch could compete for a bigger role on the roster as a key depth player to make up for being let go after Week 18 last season.

In the grand scheme of things, this is likely a move to fill the numbers at the linebacker position as Lynch may be nothing more than a camp body this summer. Yet, crazier things have happened and this offseason gives the former Baylor standout a chance to make a team that is expected to compete for another Super Bowl opportunity.

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