Areas of Severe Thunderstorms and Excessive Rainfall; Heat Wave Builds in the Intermountain West and Plains

A slow moving front will bring rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall to the central Plains eastward to the east-central U.S.. The first widespread significant heat wave of summer for the Intermountain West and Plains is expected to develop today and expand through next week. Dangerous heat will continue to impact portions of the Southwest and Southeast. Read More >

The PLAZA Microburst Event

August 6, 1996

Strong thunderstorms moved through the Grandview and Plaza areas around midday producing two microbursts. These winds downed trees and caused damage to the roof of the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library.

Below is a series of satellite images showing the cluster of thunderstorms as they moved into the Kansas City area. The IR image shows a small area of colder cloud top temperatures had developed, indicating that the storms had intensified. The images show the tops then warmed as the storms moved across Kansas City, which is indicative of a collapsing thunderstorm and associated microburst.

Infrared Satellite Images

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