The Kansas City weather tornado warning was no longer the main concern Tuesday night as the threat from severe winds faded and flooding took over. Radar estimates showed 1 to 4 inches of rain had already fallen Tuesday evening, with the heaviest rain staying mainly south of I-70.
That left A Flood Watch in effect south of Kansas City while spots of flooding remained possible through Wednesday morning. The shift matters most for people in the wetter areas: the hazard was moving from wind damage to water on roads and in low spots, even before the next round arrived.
KCTV First Warns
KCTV’s First Warns kept the wet stretch in focus for Wednesday and Thursday, with some of the rain expected to be heavy at times. Wednesday was labeled First Warn for Rounds of Rain and Cooler, and Thursday was labeled First Warn for Yet More, Heavy Rain.
The forecast called for 1 to 3 inches of rain across the area, which adds to the Tuesday evening totals already measured in some places. For readers south of Kansas City, that means the Flood Watch covered the period when the ground was most likely to stay saturated and runoff could build quickly.
I-70 and Kansas City
The location of the heaviest rain matters here. Because it stayed mainly south of I-70, the highest totals were not spread evenly across the area, and the flood concern was sharper on that side of Kansas City.
The severe wind threat was fading, but the rain threat was still building into a flooding concern. A major fall cool-down was also expected to follow the rain, leaving Wednesday and Thursday as the period when repeated rounds of Heavy Rain could keep the ground wet and the Flood Watch in play south of Kansas City.
