Thursday at 6:24 p.m., the National Weather Service warned people that strong thunderstorms are coming until 7 p.m. This is an alert for the counties of Clay, Ray, Clinton, and Caldwell. Get ready for hail the size of a nickel (0.88 inches) and wind gusts of up to 40 mph.
“At 6:24 p.m., Doppler radar tracked a strong thunderstorm near Trimble, or near Plattsburg, moving northeast at 35 mph,” the NWS says. Strong winds could pull tree limbs down and move things around that aren’t fixed. Some plants could be damaged by hail in a small way.
Smithville, Kearney, Lawson, Plattsburg, Lathrop, Trimble, Holt, Turney, Elmira, and Knoxville are some of the places that the alert affects. Between mile marks 26 and 50 on Interstate 35 in Missouri is part of this.
“If you’re outside, you might want to find shelter inside a building,” says the NWS.
This message will last until 7 p.m.
What should you do when lightning is nearby?
Every year, about 25 million lightning hits happen in the United States. Most of them happen in the summer. According to the NWS, these hits kill about 20 people every year. As a rainstorm gets closer, the chance of lightning strikes goes up, and it’s highest when the storm is right above you. This chance goes down as the storm moves away.
To stay safe during a thunderstorm, try these things:
- If you go outside, make a plan for how to get to a safer place so you don’t get hit by lightning.
- You should find a safe place to hide if the sky gets scary and thunder starts to sound.
- When you get inside, don’t touch windows, doors, corded phones, electrical equipment, or water.
- Don’t go outside again for 30 minutes after the last lightning or thunder.
Source: Nickel-sized hail anticipated with thunderstorms to hit the Kansas City area Thursday