By Lucky Kidd
CENTRAL KANSAS — Cleanup continues from a Saturday night windstorm that brought gusts to around 80 miles an hour to parts of central Kansas.
Some of the heaviest damage was reported in McPherson, where the strongest gusts were reported when a line of severe storms moved through after 11 p.m. In the aftermath, many streets were blocked with downed tree limbs and power lines. Much of McPherson was without power at one point, however many Board of Public Utilities customers had power restored early Sunday morning.
Evergy and Ark Valley Electric Cooperative also were impacted by power outages, with over 2,400 Evergy customers in the Hutchinson area and another 800 around Inman losing power when the winds came through. Power outages were also reported in Moundridge. Again, most affected customers were back on by daybreak Sunday.
In McPherson, while the most visible damage was to trees, there were also reports of vehicles and some roofs being damaged by the wind, some where they were struck by falling limbs. At least one shed was blown over in the east part of Mustang Communities mobile home park on the city’s northeast edge.
McPherson Fire Department Captain Josh Hedlund told Ad Astra News Sunday morning their crews were out shortly after the winds passed to assist in cutting up trees that had fallen onto streets to make them passable for their apparatus. In a number of cases streets remained closed well into Sunday due to downed power lines
The McPherson Area Solid Waste Utility opened their transfer station’s limb site Sunday afternoon to allow residents to take storm debris there. Access to the facility was limited Sunday morning due to power poles being snapped in the area of 17th and Limestone Road. McPherson County Commissioner David O’Dell praised MASWU personnel for their work to get the facility opened during Monday’s Commission meeting.
Large trees were also reported damaged in the Hutchinson area, according to reports from the National Weather Service in Wichita, which also had a report of I-135’s northbound lanes being blocked near the US 50 north interchange on the east edge of Newton due to a weather related accident.
