Severe storms moved through Douglas County and the Lawrence area late Monday night into early Tuesday morning, dumping upwards of 3 inches of rain in some places, knocking down power lines and prompting multiple water rescues.
According to the National Weather Service, the Lawrence airport recorded 1.37 inches of rainfall, with estimates across town ranging from about 1 inch to more than 2 inches on Lawrence’s west side. The heaviest rainfall in Douglas County fell on the west and northwest sides, about 2 to 3 inches, while southern and southeastern areas got 0.75 to 1.25 inches.
Douglas County Emergency Management reported widespread storm damage overnight, with power outages, fallen trees and limbs, and downed power lines. Quarter-size hail was reported in Clinton, and a Douglas County Public Works storage building near Lone Star sustained roof damage, according to Karrey Britt, a spokesperson for the county.
The tornado sirens were activated in Lawrence, Lone Star, Pleasant Grove, Lecompton, Eudora and Clinton. The sirens sounded from 12:13 a.m. until 12:23 a.m., and the NWS allowed the warning to expire at 12:24 a.m.
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Around 12:30 a.m., the NWS saw weak radar circulation near Clinton Lake. Emergency managers surveyed damage and reviewed photos, concluding impacts were not from a tornado.
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“A lot of the wind damage reported had all fallen in the same direction, which is indicative of wind, just straight-line wind damage,” NWS Meteorologist Jenifer Prieto said.
Reports included uprooted trees near Kasold Drive, numerous downed trees in North Lawrence, and knocked-down power lines. No injuries or fatalities have been reported, Britt said.
The NWS also reported many stranded vehicles and water rescues across Lawrence, Douglas County and Shawnee County.
Prieto urged residents to avoid flooded roadways.
“It only takes 2 feet of running water across the road to sweep any car off the roadway,” Prieto said. “For a person, an adult, it’s only 6 inches of running water that can knock you off your feet.”
As of just before 1 p.m. Tuesday, Evergy’s outage map indicated about 615 Lawrence-area customers were without power. Haskell Indian Nations University canceled classes Tuesday because of a campuswide outage.
Douglas County first responders encourage people to use caution today due to the heat advisory and humidity in effect. With some power outages still occurring, they also urge residents to check on neighbors and friends to ensure they have access to a cool place if needed.
The NWS expects a low chance of thunderstorms late Tuesday night, with no severe weather anticipated.
However, scattered severe thunderstorms are likely late Wednesday afternoon into early evening, bringing large hail and damaging wind gusts. Additional rain could trigger city flooding, and Thursday could see another round of storms.
See severe weather resources and links to find the latest weather info below.
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Courtney Lane (she/her), reporting correspondent, has worked with The Lawrence Times since April 2026. Originally from Arkansas, she’s a graduate of KU’s Journalism school, where she worked as a reporter, opinion section editor, and eventually editor-in-chief for The Kansan.
Read her work for the Times at this link, and see her photography for the Times at this link.
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.
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.
Latest Lawrence news:
Cuyler Dunn/Lawrence Times
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Wulfe Wulfemeyer/Lawrence Times
Cuyler Dunn/Lawrence Times
