
The torrential rains that swept through the area just before dawn today triggered flash flooding that endangered motorists on roads near creeks that jumped their banks.
Members of the Roeland Park and Mission Police Departments were called in to help drivers stranded by flash flooding on I-35 at the Lamar Avenue interchange, where Turkey Creeks quickly spilled over and led to rising water along the highway. Fire crews aided in removing stranded motorists from their vehicles. When the rains quit, the waters subsided in a matter of minutes.
Indian Creek posed a threat as well, with Overland Park police forced to close 103rd Street from Conser to Metcalf on account of standing water in the roadway from flooding. Here’s a photo from the Overland Park police:
At 103rd and Wornall, just across the State Line, rapidly rising waters stranding two people inside Coach’s Bar and Grill and swept a car away.
Here’s video from a Twitter user of the scene at 103rd and Wornall:
.@KCMOFireDept blocks Wornall as rushing water flows like a river @lnanderson@NicolePhillipic.twitter.com/IsP7YLz9nB
— TJH (@THellhake) July 27, 2017
With soil already near saturation points from recent rains, Johnson County was especially prone to flooding when the storms rolled in overnight. Weather station data shows that more than five inches of rain fell across northeast Johnson County, with six inches or more in many areas. The weather station at Rock Creek on Mission recorded 5.83 inches of accumulation over the past 24 hours. That deluge sparked historic flooding across the metro. Indian Creek’s cresting at State Line set a new record by a wide margin:
Indian Creek at State Line is cresting at 27 feet this morning, which breaks the previous record level by almost 2 feet
— NWS Kansas City (@NWSKansasCity) July 27, 2017
And here are a few more shots of the scene at I-35 and Lamar from the Roeland Park police:
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