Post updated at 3:04 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1:
Following a storm that brought wind gusts of 70 mph Wednesday night, power has been restored for all but about 2,300 Lawrence-area customers as of Thursday afternoon, according to Evergy.
But for folks still without power in Lawrence and the Kansas City metro area, “While power will be on for most customers sooner, we expect that some customers will be out until Friday evening,” according to a Thursday afternoon update from Evergy.
More than 16,000 Lawrence customers had lost electricity in the storm.
As of Thursday afternoon, Evergy reported that power was restored for 80% of the 117,000 customers in the company’s service area who were without it after the storm. As of noon, about 20,000 customers were without electricity, according to Evergy.
“Evergy has about 1,100 personnel working to clear trees and repair the power system today. Neighboring utilities from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois and Iowa have committed to provide 350 linemen, who will begin arriving this afternoon,” the company said in a statement.
Thursday is expected to see a high temperature of 95°, according to the National Weather Service in Topeka. The heat could be dangerous for anyone who doesn’t have air conditioning.
The city’s cooling sites are available for anyone needing respite from the heat.
“Power is on at all of our recreation facilities,” Maureen Brady, a spokesperson for the City of Lawrence, said via email Thursday. “East Lawrence had internet and phones down for a bit, but they are now restored.”
Where to cool off
The Lawrence Community Shelter, 3655 E. 25th St., is not exiting guests when the temperature is above 100°. The shelter is accessible by Lawrence Transit bus Route 1.
People may also ride Lawrence Transit buses to get out of the heat, according to a June news release from the city. Buses are free to ride for 2024. “We ask riders to follow the Transit policy of riding no more than one full loop on a route, after which you are welcome to transfer to another bus route if you desire additional cooling time,” according to the release.
The city is also offering its recreational facilities as places to cool off during their open hours (and notes that all guests must follow facility rules). Folks can also take showers as needed during specific hours.
Details:
Lawrence Community Building
115 W. 11th St. (just west of 11th and Massachusetts streets)
Building hours:
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays
Shower hours:
1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
1 to 3 p.m. Sundays
East Lawrence Recreation Center
1245 E. 15th St. (just east of 15th Street and Haskell Avenue)
Building hours:
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays
Shower hours:
4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sundays
Holcom Park Recreation Center
2700 W. 27th St. (just east of 27th Street and Lawrence Avenue)
Building hours:
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays
Shower hours:
8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sundays
Sports Pavilion Lawrence
100 Rock Chalk Lane (~1 mile north of Sixth Street and George Williams Way on the far northwestern edge of town)
Building hours:
5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
1 to 9 p.m. Sundays
Shower hours:
5:30 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays
1 to 8 p.m. Sundays
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Related coverage:
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
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Severe weather resources
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.
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 911.
City of Lawrence snow info:
• The city has snow information and a map at lawrenceks.org/snow that shows information about road conditions and snow plow locations. The city typically begins snow and ice control for residential roadways when 2 or more inches of snowfall or icing occurs.
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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