Winds of up to 86 mph swept through the Topeka area between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Wednesday, leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power.
More than 11,800 customers of electric utility Evergy in the Topeka area were without power shortly after 6 a.m., according to the power outage map website it maintains.
As of 7:15 a.m., the number of homes and businesses without power had been reduced to 7,911, resulting in 257 power outages, according to that map.
Silver Lake and Rossville in northwestern Shawnee County were among the locations that suffered storm damage.
The weather service’s Topeka office website indicated it had received reports of:
• Winds of 86 mph at 1:22 a.m. in southwestern Shawnee County, four miles east of Dover.
• Winds of 132 mph at 1:44 a.m. four miles east of Lyndon in Osage County.
• Winds of 80 mph at 1:24 a.m. in eastern Wabaunsee County, two miles northwest of Dover.
• Winds of 72 mph at 1:16 a.m. in northeast Wabaunsee County, two miles northeast of Willard.
• Winds of 70 mph at 1 a.m. in northeast Wabaunsee County, 2 miles southeast of Willard.
• Power poles and 3-inch tree limbs were snapped at 1:43 a.m. five miles north of Auburn in southwestern Shawnee County.
Topeka saw 0.68 inches of rain Wednesday morning, including 0.62 inches between approximately 3 and 4 a.m. and 0.06 inches between approximately 4 and 5 a.m., the National Weather Service’s Topeka office said. reported on its website.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal: More than 11,000 homes and businesses in the Topeka area affected by power outages
