Residents, as well as city and electric crews were out in force Sunday night and Monday after a heavy thunderstorm wreaked havoc in the city of Great Bend Sunday evening.
As widespread thunderstorms rolled through a vast swath of Kansas, one cell produced violent winds which path of destruction which included major damage to trees, vehicles, fences, buildings, signs and more. Several residences and business reported moderate to major roof damage as a result of the storm.
Thousands in the city were initially left without power as a result of downed power poles and snapped power lines. Most power had been restored as of Tuesday morning, however 429 customers still without power as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to Wheatland Electric Cooperative. As a result of the outages, Lincoln Elementary at Broadway Ave. and Patton Rd. canceled its scheduled summer school sessions Monday and Tuesday, though they advised on social media summer school will resume as normal Wednesday.
Foliage clogged the streets of Great Bend as the storm uprooted and tore apart large trees across the city.
The storm also caused several traffic issues, as stoplights at several major intersections along 10th Street and Broadway Avenue sustained damage to traffic control boxes as a result of the power outages.
Affected intersections were: 10th and Washington, 10th and Grant, 10th and McKinley. The city announced these signals will remain in flash mode until repairs can be made.
Motorists were also advised that Patton and Broadway is a four-way stop while electric crews work to restore power.
According to meteorologist Andy Kleinsasser from the National Weather Service in Wichita, the storm hit Great Bend at around 6:04 p.m. Sunday evening.
Kleinsasser said the NWS did not receive any exact wind measurements due to a loss of NWS measuring equipment at the Great Bend Airport immediately prior to the storm. They estimate, however, the storm produced winds of at least 80 miles per hour, with gusts possibly higher, based on reports they received of widespread large tree and roof damage, as well as large recreational vehicles being reported as overturned in the city.
Based on a combination of damage reports and radar indications, NWS believes the winds which tore through the city were most likely a result of a microburst, or powerful downdraft within a thunderstorm, which produced heavy rain and powerful straight-line winds.
Based on NWS reports, the damage was heaviest on the south and west sides of town.
Kleinsasser said local observers also reported anywhere from 1.4 inches of rain on the north side of Great Bend to 1.69 inches on the south side of town covering a 24-hour period ending at 7 a.m. Monday.
Several residents reported also being without water for a short time Sunday evening following the storm.
According to Public Works Director Jason Cauley, all three water wells servicing the city lost power, and a technical problem with the generators at the wells caused power to not immediately switch over to the generators as it was supposed to. This caused a drop in water pressure below a Kansas Department of Health and Environment mandated 20 pounds per square inch.
Crews were able to quickly resolve the issue, however, and water pressure was only lost in city for 30-45 minutes. After being in contact with KDHE, the city was not put under a boil water advisory. Cauley advised the city would continue to perform routine testing to ensure the water remained safe for consumption.
To aid with clean-up in the wake of the storm, the City of Great Bend opened the gates to the Compost Site burn area at 97 SW 5th Ave. for the public to take trees and limbs in.
Pickup trucks were allowed to dump in the burn area and trailers were to continue to dump at the usual spot, said Street Superintendent James Giles. The city, however, opted not to pick up trees or limbs from yards, he said.
City Administrator Kendal Francis stated the decision not pick up limbs was a result of city crews having to respond to extensive damage to city owned property, leading to a shortage of manpower to pick up limbs from private residences. He said, in his estimation, the response time would have realistically been two to three weeks to be able to pick up limbs, and the city did not feel that was feasible.
“We ask that the public be patient as the (compost) site may become crowded and congested,” Giles said.
Crews will be on site to help direct traffic.
