Garden City, Kan. – A wide swath of western and southwestern Kansas is under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 2 a.m. CDT Saturday, with storms capable of producing large hail, damaging winds, and frequent lightning overnight.
According to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, the watch covers 28 counties: Barber, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Kiowa, Lane, Logan, Meade, Morton, Ness, Pawnee, Pratt, Scott, Seward, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Wallace, and Wichita. Cities at risk include Dodge City, Garden City, Liberal, Pratt, and Ulysses, with storms expected to intensify through the evening. This could affect the 178,000 people living in these counties.
Forecasters warn of wind gusts up to 70 mph and hail larger than one inch in diameter. Storms may develop rapidly along a dryline pushing east across the region, with potential to impact travel on U.S. Highways 50, 54, 83, and 400. Visibility may drop quickly in downpours, and falling branches or debris could pose additional hazards.
Emergency officials urge residents to charge devices, stay off roads if possible, and shelter indoors away from windows. Vehicles should be moved under cover to protect from hail damage.
The thunderstorm watch remains in effect until 2 a.m., though more warnings or updates are possible if storms strengthen or persist into Saturday morning. Stay tuned to local alerts and NOAA Weather Radio for real-time information.
