Storms pummel Kansas City area; tornadoes reported

Severe weather Monday night across the Kansas City area produced several tornado warnings and reports of twisters on the ground west of De Soto and in Kansas City, North. Heavy rain left low-lying areas impassable to traffic.

The storms delivered no immediate reports of injuries or widespread damage, but the danger of flooding remained high as commuters found many routes home flooded Monday night.

Reports of high water came from across the area amid several calls for water rescues of people stranded in their cars. The Kansas City Fire Department rescued 12 people from high water at 23rd Street and Interstate 435.

Up to 6 inches of rain drenched parts of Platte County and nearly 5 inches fell in Leavenworth. A bridge at Humes Road and Goodlet Circle in Weston was washed out, cutting off access to around six homes. Trees were reported down on Missouri 45 at the Iatan power plant.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Little Platte River near Smithville, affecting Clay and Platte counties, and for the Fishing River near Mosby, affecting Clay and Ray counties.

Kansas City crews closed Guinotte and Gardner avenues in the East Bottoms because of high water. A sinkhole was reported at 6700 E. Front St.

At the height of the storm, cloud rotations were reported at 151st Street and Interstate 35, at 87th Street and Lackman Road and at Kansas 7 and College Boulevard.

Several trees were blown down near Olathe Northwest High School. More tree damage was reported at North Oak Trafficway and Englewood Road.

More than one structure reportedly was set afire by lightning, including the Pointe Royal Apartments in the 8500 block of West 123rd Terrace in Overland Park. There were no injuries.

Electrical lines were down in several locations. Kansas City Power & Light Co. reported more than 4,500 customers were without power immediately after the storm.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Department reported that a tornado touched down at 8301 N. Church Road, causing minor damage to the Wal-Mart Supercenter there. A spotter reported a tornado west of De Soto at Kansas 10.

The tornado warnings expired at 6 p.m., but people at Kauffman Stadium, where the Royals game was postponed, were advised to stay put as high water made many exit routes impassable.

Traffic on northbound Interstate 35 was stopped at Cambridge Circle because of water on the highway.

A cold front dropping down from the northwest sparked the storms. The front also was to bring cooler weather. Monday’s high of 89 was forecast to give way to highs of 72 on Tuesday and 68 on Wednesday, the weather service said.

The line of thunderstorms that developed along the front was more than 1,000 miles long, according to AccuWeather.

Forecasts called for up to an additional 2 inches Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday night.

This story was originally published July 7, 2015 at 6:52 AM with the headline "Storms pummel Kansas City area; tornadoes reported."