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KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

Today is a First Alert Weather Alert Day for a risk of evening and nighttime severe thunderstorms.

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The most likely time for severe weather is going to be after sunset, or between 7 p.m. and midnight, though there is at least some potential of a severe storm a couple of hours prior to that timeframe.

For Kansas City, the line of severe thunderstorms is expected to sweep from west to east across the metro between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., but please allow for an extra hour on either side of that timeframe to err on the side of caution.

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LIVE BLOG:

1:41 p.m. — The Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for Atchison and Holt counties have been allowed to expire.

1:30 p.m. — The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, with risks including wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour and 1-inch hail for Atchison, Nodaway, and Holt Counties in Missouri and Doniphan County, Kansas. This warning is expected to remain in place until 2 p.m.

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1:30 p.m. — The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for a number of counties in areas including northeast Kansas and northern Missouri until 7 p.m.

The counties covered under the watch include Doniphan County, Kansas, and Daviess, Grundy, Harrison, Mercer, Putnam, Sullivan, Adair, Schuyler, Andrew Atchison, Buchanan, Dekalb, Gentry, Holt, Nodaway and Worth counties in Missouri.

Fall severe weather setups tend to be limited by a lack of strong instability that we typically see in spring, and this setup is no exception. Nevertheless, a significant amount of favorable wind shear will create an environment capable of producing damaging wind gusts and quick-developing tornadoes.

If a severe thunderstorm warning or tornado warning is issued for your community, please take action quickly because you may not have much time to seek shelter.

Severe thunderstorms will likely develop along a cold front moving through the Kansas City area Wednesday, bringing the threat of damaging wind gusts and brief tornadoes.

But before the storms, it will be another windy day across the metro. Through Thursday morning, the National Weather Service said winds are expected to have sustained speeds between 20 and 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.

Afternoon temperatures will climb into the mid-70s. Kansas City’s temperatures are typically around 61 degrees this time of year.

Rounds of thunderstorms will likely develop this evening in the Kansas City area. The weather service said some strong to severe storms are possible.

While some isolated, scattered storms will be possible in the afternoon, “the main concern is a line of storms that are expected to develop along a front moving through the region this evening,” the weather service said.

“Strong damaging winds and brief tornadoes are possible with this line,” the weather service said.

Because of the threat of severe weather, the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center placed northwestern Missouri, eastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma at an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms on Wednesday, the third highest threat of severe weather on a scale of one to five.

Kansas City, Overland Park, Kansas City, Kansas, Olathe, and Topeka are among the larger cities in the area with an enhanced risk of severe weather.

Because of ongoing rain showers in the Kansas City area, the Storm Prediction Center pushed the area at greater risk for the stronger tornadoes west of the Kansas City area.

Initially, the concern was that isolated severe thunderstorms could develop early in the afternoon and evening.

The latest forecast information indicates that any tornado potential for the Kansas City area will be embedded along a line of thunderstorms as it moves into metro in the evening, said Jonathan Kurtz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Kansas City, during a morning weather briefing.

The storms are expected to bring heavy rains and lightning. The weather service said, “There is a chance for some areas to get closer to 2 inches of rain, especially if storms begin to train” over the same area in a relatively short period.

The timing of the storms has been slowed, but people should expect thunderstorms in northwestern Missouri late in the afternoon into the evening. Areas closer to central Missouri and south will see thunderstorms overnight. The timing of the storms may change.

Winds are expected to weaken on the morning of Halloween. With the passage of the cold front, temperatures will be cooler, climbing to the mid-50s in the afternoon.

By sunset, temperatures are expected to be in the low 50s and dip to the low 40s overnight. The weather service said temperatures will be closer to freezing in northern Missouri, making for a chilly Halloween.

A slight warm-up is expected to begin as temperatures climb to the low 60s on Friday, the mid-60s on Saturday, and the upper 60s on Sunday.

The weather service said that additional storms are expected Saturday into Sunday, with heavy rainfall possible.

Weather watches and warnings

A live data feed from the National Weather Service containing official weather warnings, watches, and advisory statements. Tap warning areas for more details. Sources: NOAA, National Weather Service, NOAA GeoPlatform and Esri.

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Steve Wilson swilson@star-telegram.com

This story was originally published October 30, 2024, 7:20 AM.

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Taylor Batson expected to wait to vote early in Blue Springs, but she let out an expletive when she saw the length of the line.

“Holy s---! But here we go.”

The Blue Springs resident was one of the approximately 170 people waiting two hours to vote Tuesday afternoon.

Jackson County residents from Raytown, Independence and Lee’s Summit and beyond cast their ballots at the Jackson County Election Board’s Blue Springs early voting location, one of two locations currently serving Jackson County residents who live outside of the limits of Kansas City.

From seniors sitting on their walkers to babies in parents’ arms, people of all ages braved the powerful winds to cast their ballots a week before the Nov. 5 Election Day in no-excuse absentee voting. 2024 is the first presidential election since Missouri expanded in-person absentee voting after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The wind was causing issues for Batson — the pages of her anatomy and physiology textbook kept getting rustled. Batson, who votes in every election, said she was motivated to go out on her free day because of “my rights, my women’s rights.”

This is a record-breaking year for early voting, said Tammy Brown, director of the Jackson County Election Board. In her more than 20 years with the organization, Brown said, “I have never seen this kind of turnout ever” before Election Day.

“I think it’s both parties saying, ‘Get out and vote early,’ and people are listening.”

On Friday and Saturday, voters waited up to four hours, and the election board had to add six voting machines for their satellite early voting location.

Approximately 170 people waited two hours to vote early in Blue Springs, Missouri this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/whgJfhUr9M

— Eleanor Nash (she/her) (@eleanorcnash) October 29, 2024

With 18 machines and 12 paper ballot stations, they are at maximum capacity at Fleming Meeting Hall, a Parks and Rec building that looks like a ranch-style house.

“We just don’t have any big buildings out here,” Brown said. With churches able to support or oppose questions like abortion, Brown said holding early voting at a church “didn’t seem prudent.”

While the Kansas City Election Board serves roughly the same number of voters, the organization has six locations compared to Jackson County’s two polling places operating at the same time.

More than 10,600 people had voted early in person in the rest of Jackson County as of Monday, Oct. 28. That’s around 3.8% of the county’s roughly 278,000 registered voters outside Kansas City limits.

Just over 63,000 people had cast their in person ballots so far on the Missouri side of the Kansas City area.

Brown said that both the Blue Springs and Independence early voting locations had similar waits, each taking around 100 people an hour.

She suggested voters come prepared with a chair, water and snacks, and be sure to dress for the weather. Help keep the line moving by writing down who you’re voting for and checking your name and address ahead of time on the Jackson County Election Board website.

The Jackson County Election board has three early voting locations for residents of Jackson County who live outside of Kansas City. For voters in other parts of the metro, look at The Star’s early voting guide.

You might be better off waiting until Tuesday, when more than 50 polling locations will open up around the county.

Have more questions about elections in the Kansas City area? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.

This story was originally published October 29, 2024, 5:57 PM.

Missouri drivers with a license expiring in the first two weeks of November should prepare for delays as the state rolls out new technology to streamline license applications and renewals.

The upgrade aims to standardize the software used by Missouri’s patchwork system of privately owned license offices. Between them, Missouri’s DMVs use more than 50 different programs, many of which cannot communicate with one another, the Department of Revenue wrote in a press release Thursday, Oct. 24.

“This launch will be part of a two-phase, fully modernized system that will offer additional, easier to navigate e-services, mobile identification credentials, increased efficiency, streamlined transactions and provide overall better customer service,” the department wrote on a webpage dedicated to the upgrade initiative.

Here’s what to know about what’s changing at Missouri DMVs in the coming weeks and months.

Missouri license offices will be open for regular business hours from now through Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5. After that, closures will start around the state for the rest of that week.

Nov. 6: Offices will be open for regular hours but will not be able to process driver’s licenses. Car registrations will still be available.

Nov. 7: Most offices will be open for motor vehicle transactions only. Some offices will be closed, but none are in the Kansas City area.

Nov. 8-Nov. 11: All license offices in the state will be closed Friday, Nov. 8, for the upgrade, closed as normal over the weekend and closed on Monday, Nov. 11, for Veterans’ Day.

Nov. 12: All license offices will reopen for normal hours with technology upgrades available. Drivers should expect longer wait times for the rest of this week as license seekers turned away the previous week come back in.

One of the biggest upgrades drivers will see Nov. 12 is the ability to renew some drivers’ licenses online without making a trip to their local license office. However, DOR spokesperson Katy Werdehausen noted that they must meet certain requirements in order to do it:

Brand new licenses, getting your license transferred from another state and changes to your license status must still be done in person.

Drivers getting their licenses reinstated will be able to provide documents, make payments and get updates on this process online as well. Scans or clear photos of required documents will be accepted, Werdehausen said.

Other types of documents and tracking features will be available online as well. Drivers will be able to quickly check their license status, order a duplicate license if theirs is lost, update CDL paperwork and track their new license through the mail online.

Drivers’ online records will also show license office employees the results of road exams and written drivers’ tests from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the first step in greater communication between the DOR’s systems and state law enforcement.

Do you have more questions about transportation in Missouri or Kansas? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.

The Kansas City Star

Natalie Wallington is a reporter on The Star’s service journalism team with a focus on government, labor, sustainability and local utilities. Her coverage of the region’s recycling system won a Feature Writing award from the Kansas Press Association in 2024.