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Father's Day Cleanup Begins After Powerful Storms Hammer NWKS Radio listening area
- Kristina Hemel
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Many fathers across northwest Kansas are spending Father's Day cleaning up storm damage after a powerful line of severe thunderstorms tore through the region Saturday evening, bringing destructive winds, heavy rain, hail, power outages, and widespread damage reports.
The storms, which moved across much of the NWKS Radio listening area, left behind downed trees, power lines, damaged buildings, overturned equipment, flooded roads, and impressive rainfall totals. Hundreds of listener reports poured into the NWKS Radio Facebook page throughout the evening, helping document one of the most significant severe weather events to impact the area this year.
Damaging Winds Reach 100 MPH
According to storm reports and weather data, some of the strongest winds occurred in Thomas County and surrounding areas.
Reported wind gusts included:
Colby: 100 mph wind gust recorded at 6:40 p.m.
Rexford: Estimated 70-80 mph winds as the storm core moved east.
Oakley: Wind gusts around 70 mph reported near Interstate 70.
Hoxie: 60-70 mph winds accompanied by significant tree and roof damage.
Grinnell: 60-70 mph severe outflow wind gusts.
Atwood: Radar-indicated winds around 60 mph.
St. Francis: Confirmed radar indications of 60 mph winds east of town.
Goodland: Outflow winds estimated between 40 and 60 mph.
The powerful winds caused extensive damage across portions of northwest Kansas.
Listener reports included:
Numerous power lines down in Colby, Gem, Oakley and surrounding areas.
Trees uprooted or snapped throughout neighborhoods.
Utility poles reportedly down near Colby.
Train cars overturned in Gem.
Irrigation pivots, combines and farm equipment overturned near Gem.
Grain bin damage north of Atwood.
Roof damage to buildings in Colby and surrounding communities.
Street lights blown over.
Widespread tree and limb damage throughout the region.
Lightning-sparked grass fires west of Gove before heavy rain arrived.
One listener reported a fully loaded 40-foot shipping container being moved several feet by the wind, while another reported a chicken coop being blown approximately 30 feet from its original location.
Heavy Rainfall Across the Region
Along with damaging winds, many areas received significant rainfall.
Some listener-reported totals included:
Nearly 6 inches south of Hoxie
5.5 inches in Grinnell
More than 5 inches south of Rexford
5 inches northwest of Waldo
More than 5.5 inches between Menlo and Seguin
4.7 inches near Russell
4.5 inches north of Orion
Numerous reports between 2 and 4 inches across Colby, Oakley, Hoxie, Quinter, Atwood, Selden, Gove County and surrounding communities
In Hoxie, listeners reported creeks running out of their banks, while several roads across the region experienced flooding concerns as torrential rain fell behind the storm line.
Power Outages Impact Thousands
The storms left thousands without electricity Saturday evening.
Midwest Energy reported approximately 3,700 customers without power at the height of the storm, with the hardest-hit areas including the Colby/Gem area, Oakley, northeast of Jetmore, and portions of central Kansas. Utility crews worked through the night restoring service and clearing damaged power infrastructure.
The power failures also affected NWKS Radio operations.
Several NWKS Radio stations temporarily went off the air due to storm-related power outages, including:
100.3 The Ride
KXXX 790
RockIt 102.5
Fly Over Country 97.9
Staff worked quickly to restore service, and all stations returned to the air as conditions allowed. We appreciate the patience of our listeners and the many reports submitted throughout the evening.
A Community Effort
As severe weather unfolded Saturday night, listeners across northwest Kansas became the eyes and ears of the region. Reports came in from Colby, Oakley, Goodland, Hoxie, Grinnell, Atwood, Rexford, Quinter, Selden, Sharon Springs, Wallace, Oberlin, Scott City, Gove County and many other communities.
The photos, videos, rainfall totals and damage reports provided valuable real-time information that helped keep neighbors informed during rapidly changing conditions.
More Storms Possible Tonight
Unfortunately, cleanup efforts may have to pause at times as forecasters continue to monitor the potential for additional severe thunderstorms across northwest Kansas Sunday evening and overnight.
Residents are encouraged to stay weather aware, especially those working outdoors cleaning up storm debris and repairing damage from Saturday night's storms.
NWKS Radio will continue to monitor conditions closely and, if severe weather develops, our stations will once again provide local severe weather coverage to keep listeners informed and safe. Our commitment remains the same during every severe weather event: bringing timely, local information to the communities we serve.
Share Your Photos and Reports
If you haven't already, visit the NWKS Radio Facebook page to see hundreds of storm photos, videos, rainfall totals and damage reports submitted by listeners from across the region.
The response from our audience once again demonstrated the strength of northwest Kansas communities coming together during severe weather.
As many families spend Father's Day cleaning up tree limbs, repairing fences, assessing crop damage and helping neighbors recover, we wish all fathers across northwest Kansas a safe and meaningful Father's Day.
And as always, thank you for making NWKS Radio your local source for news, information and severe weather coverage.
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