More than 2,400 Evergy customers in Lawrence were without power as of 12:45 a.m. Wednesday as strong winds blew through the area.
Outages were scattered around town, with the largest affecting about 1,500 customers in south-central Lawrence, according to Evergy’s outage map.
A high wind warning is in effect through noon Wednesday. The National Weather Service office in Topeka forecast northwest winds around 30 mph with gusts of 60 mph overnight.
Update:
• Power restored for most of Lawrence; some scattered outages should be resolved soon, March 5, 2025
There’s a 20% chance of snow before 7 a.m. Wednesday, followed by patchy blowing snow before noon, according to the NWS forecast. The high for Wednesday is 38°, though winds could gust as high as 55 mph.
You can check the status of power outages on the Evergy outage map, outagemap.evergy.com. Report a power outage at evergy.com/report-outage, or call 800-544-4857.
“Evergy monitors weather conditions and staffs crews accordingly, so we’re ready to respond to outages as quickly as we safely can,” according to a news release from the power company.
For down powerlines, call Evergy’s emergency line, 800-383-1183, if above-ground lines are arcing or making contact with trees or vegetation. Call 911 immediately if overhead power lines are on the ground or a fire starts. Do not go near the line.
The City of Lawrence was preparing for the weather Tuesday afternoon, though because of heavy rainfall ahead of the snow, it was not possible to pretreat roads, according to a news release. City residents can report downed tree limbs and blocked roadways through SeeClickFix at lawrenceks.org/request-services, according to the city.
Following high winds on Wednesday, Thursday is expected to be partly sunny with a high near 48°, with a 30% chance of rain Thursday night into Friday and a low of 36°, according to the forecast. Friday is expected to be partly sunny with a high near 48° and an overnight low around 25° into Saturday.
The weekend is expected to be mostly sunny and clear, with highs of 55° on Saturday and 60° on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday are expected to be sunny, with highs near 72°.
See links to more severe weather information and resources below.
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Severe weather resources
Evergy outages:
• Check the status of power outages on the Evergy outage map, outagemap.evergy.com.
• Report a power outage at evergy.com/report-outage, or call 800-544-4857.
• For down powerlines, call Evergy’s emergency line, 800-383-1183, if above-ground lines are arcing or making contact with trees or vegetation. Call 911 immediately if overhead power lines are on the ground or a fire starts. Do not go near the line.
National Weather Service local office (Topeka):
• Find the latest weather forecast info and severe weather advisories for the Lawrence area at this link.
• In the event of rapidly changing severe weather, such as tornadoes, the NWS posts frequent updates on Twitter, @NWSTopeka. You do not need a Twitter account to see tweets from NWS.
• NWS is also on Facebook, facebook.com/NWSTopeka.
• Call 785-234-2592 to hear the forecast.
Douglas County Emergency Management:
• Follow @DgCoEM on Twitter or Douglas County, KS- Emergency Management on Facebook, facebook.com/dgcoem.
• Sign up to receive emergency alerts at dgcoks.org/emalerts.
• Find lots of tips on severe weather and other emergency preparedness on DgCoEM’s website at douglascountyks.org/emergency-management.
• Report storm damage (for non-emergencies only, and after storm danger has passed) by calling the nonemergency dispatch line at 785-843-0250 or 785-832-7509.
City of Lawrence snow info:
• The city has snow information and a map at lawrenceks.org/snow that shows information about road conditions and where snowplows have been. The city typically begins snow and ice control for residential roadways when 2 or more inches of snowfall or icing occurs.
Get warm in Lawrence:
• See this page for locations to get warm during the day and overnight, where to get help for pets and more.
Highway conditions beyond Lawrence:
• KanDrive, an app and website from the Kansas Department of Transportation, has info on highway conditions statewide. KanDrive is available online at KanDrive.gov, and its app is available for download free on the App Store and Google Play.
Air quality:
• Check the current air quality index in Lawrence and elsewhere through AirNow, airnow.gov.
This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
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Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
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