Severe weather resources for Lawrence and Douglas County
Here’s helpful info for when a storm strikes. You’ll also see this box at the bottom of our severe weather coverage.
We try to keep these resources up to date as much as possible. Please let us know ASAP if a link is broken or something needs to be updated or added to this list.
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.
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Latest weather coverage:
Douglas County likely to see snow, major wind gusts
Douglas County will likely see snow Sunday, and wind gusts up to 60 mph are expected.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Learn how to stay safe in severe weather at upcoming training session
Douglas County Emergency Management will lead a two-hour training session on how to identify storms and stay safe in severe weather. The session is free and open to the public.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Douglas County to host workshop on extreme heat ahead of World Cup; registration still open
Douglas County Emergency Management will soon host a workshop to help local businesses, communications workers and event organizers to prepare for extreme heat around the World Cup.
Latest Lawrence news:
Chloe Anderson/Lawrence Times
Speaker to discuss amendment that would change Kansas Supreme Court justice selection process
A speaker at a Lawrence event this week will offer info about a constitutional amendment coming up on voters’ primary election ballots that would change how Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected.
August Rudisell / Lawrence Times
City staff will load compost, woodchips for residents at upcoming event
Lawrence’s City Compost Facility will soon host the first city-load event of the year, where staffers load compost and woodchips into residents’ trucks or trailers.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Customers bid farewell to plant store, candy shop in downtown Lawrence
Lines of customers stretched from Jungle House all the way to Massachusetts Street Tuesday morning as Lawrence community members said goodbye to the plant shop. Nearby Squishington’s Candy is also closing Tuesday.
KU nominates 4 student changemakers as Truman Scholars
KU has nominated four students, each with a record of campus and community service and “a high probability of becoming a ‘change agent,’” for Harry S Truman Scholarships.
Douglas County bail fund to host event on ‘the trouble with polygraphs’
The Douglas County Community Bail Fund will soon host a talk on the “history, application, and pitfalls of the use of polygraphs in our legal system,” according to organizers.
