Daily Archives: 26 September, 2012

Storms brought plenty of lightning

26 September, 20121:26 p.m.

Bill and Pat Naylor had just settled back into bed after calming down their nervous dog when it happened.

“There was a big boom, and then it went boom again,” Pat said.

The Naylors figure the first boom was a lightning bolt striking the large cypress in their yard in northwest Wichita early Wednesday morning, and the second was the large branches hitting the ground.

“It blew both sides out of it,” Naylor said.

Valley Center storm chaser Brandon Ivey shot photos of the frequent lightning, which knocked power out at his house for a while overnight.

“I saw three separate bolts produce power flashes due to blown transformers,” Ivey said.

Westar Energy reported more than 4,000 customers were without electricity at one point during the storm.

The Naylors hope they can save their cypress, which is perhaps 30 years old. An arborist was scheduled to check the tree Wednesday afternoon.

The rain gauge at the Naylor house northwest of 13th and Tyler recorded more than 5 inches of rain, though Pat admits some of that may have been “splash” off the roof and not an accurate measure of the rainfall. But National Weather Service officials say it’s likely that more than 4 inches fell in isolated spots in the city, and reports of 3 inches were widespread.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Lightning, Rain | Comments Off

How much rain fall last night and this morning in the Wichita area?

26 September, 201212:49 p.m.

The National Weather Service in Wichita has produced a map showing how much rain fell where in the metropolitan area.

There have been unofficial reports of at least 4 inches, forecasters say.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Rain | Comments Off

Heavy rain, isolated hail hit Wichita overnight

26 September, 20127:59 a.m.

More than 3 inches of rain has fallen in parts of northern and western Wichita overnight, spawning thousands of power outages.

Isolated hail – including one report of stones the size of golf balls – was also reported as a potent storm formed in the Wichita metropolitan area and then churned northeast toward Topeka.

“It developed right over us, really, and gave us a good bit of rain,” said Scott Smith, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Wichita.

The northern half of the city generally received between 2 and 3 inches of rain, Smith said.

“There’s probably some isolated 4 inches,” based on what Doppler radar is indicating, he said.

An off-duty weather service meteorologist who lives in far west Wichita reported 3.08 inches. The official rainfall total at the weather service office next to Mid-Continent Airport was 1.17 inches shortly after 7 a.m., Smith said. Jabara Airport in northeast Wichita recorded 1.5 inches.

Some parts of south Wichita and the metropolitan area only received about a half-inch of rain, Smith said.

The strong late-night storms knocked out power to thousands of Westar Energy customers for a short time. More than 4,000 customers were without electricity at one stage late Tuesday night, but the number of outages was listed at 275 at about 7:30 a.m. on the utility’s web site.

The weather service received more than a half-dozen reports of hail in Wichita, Smith said. Most of it was less than an inch in diamater, though one person reported golf ball sized hail 2 miles northwest of downtown – or about 13th and Zoo Boulevard.

More rain is expected periodically in the Wichita area through Friday, Smith said, but at this point no more heavy rain is anticipated.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Hail, Rain, Thunderstorms | Comments Off

Wichita weather: Rain continues

26 September, 20125:00 a.m.

The rain that began late Tuesday night should continue off and on throughout the day in the Wichita metropolitan area, forecasters say. Locally heavy rain will be possible at times in southern Kansas, according to the National Weather Service.

Highs will peak in the low 80s, with light southeast winds occasionally reaching double digits. Rain should pick up again later tonight, forecasters say, with lows in the mid-60s.

Rain – with occasional thunderstorms – is expected to continue through Thursday, forecasters say. None of the storms is likely to be severe. Highs on Thursday will be in the upper 70s.

For more information on current conditions, go to our weather page.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Forecast | Comments Off