A tornado warning, multiple severe thunderstorm alerts and nearly 5,000 power outages hit the Kansas City metro on Friday night as a cold front swept through the region.
Friday night was not a quiet one for Kansas City. A line of severe storms rolled through the metro area in two distinct waves, bringing tornado warnings, large hail threats and damaging wind gusts that knocked out power for thousands of residents before the worst of the system finally began to push east after midnight.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Jackson County in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas shortly after 11:35 p.m., with the storm system moving east at approximately 40 mph. The warning covered a wide swath of the metro, including Kansas City, Overland Park, Shawnee, Lenexa, Leawood, Raytown, Prairie Village, Merriam, Edwardsville, North Kansas City and several surrounding communities. Major interstate corridors were also in the warning zone, including stretches of Interstate 70, Interstate 35, Interstate 435 and Interstate 635. The warning expired just before midnight.
Thousands left without power
By 12:30 a.m., approximately 5,000 customers across the Kansas City area were without electricity. Evergy reported 2,006 outages, IPL listed 136 affected customers, and BPU reported roughly 3,000 customers in the dark. Crews were working to restore service as the storm system continued moving east.
Earlier in the evening, flooding from the first wave of storms had already caused problems. In Grandview, Missouri, water covered a portion of East 129th Street and forced it to close until Public Works crews could respond. Drivers in the area were asked to find alternate routes.
❗️ Tornado Watch for areas north of the KC Metro until 10 p.m.
📺 We’ll have your updated timeline for more storms this evening on @KMBC 9 News at 4, 5 & 6 p.m. #Mowx #Kswx #Kcwx pic.twitter.com/BL5DrypOm7
— Neville Miller KMBC (@NevilleKMBC) March 6, 2026
How the night unfolded
The threat began building in the afternoon. The first tornado watch of the evening was issued at 3:25 p.m. for counties north and east of the Kansas City metro, covering parts of both Kansas and Missouri. As the afternoon progressed, the watch area expanded significantly, eventually pulling in core metro counties including Jackson and Clay in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte in Kansas.
The first round of severe thunderstorms moved through earlier in the evening and then weakened. Meteorologists warned that a second, more dangerous round tied to an incoming cold front was expected to arrive between 8 p.m. and midnight. That second round was the one that ultimately produced the tornado warning.
Severe thunderstorm warnings cycled through multiple county combinations throughout the night, with some warnings expiring before new ones replaced them in adjacent areas. By 12:22 a.m., the severe thunderstorm warning covering Clay, Jackson, Lafayette and Ray counties in Missouri had been allowed to expire. A tornado watch covering several counties including Bates, Cooper, Henry, Johnson, Lafayette, Pettis and Saline in Missouri remained in effect until 3 a.m.
3:50 PM. Now monitoring the Kansas City metro area for a severe weather watch (severe thunderstorm or tornado). 40% chance a watch is issued within the next couple hours.
— Nick Bender (@NickBenderKMBC) March 6, 2026
What to do if a tornado warning is issued
For residents in the Kansas City area who were caught off guard by how quickly the situation developed Friday night, the National Weather Service offers straightforward guidance for future events.
Anyone indoors during a tornado warning should move immediately to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of the building, staying away from windows. People at workplaces or schools should follow established tornado drill procedures and avoid large open spaces like gymnasiums or cafeterias. Those outside should seek shelter inside a sturdy building immediately, as sheds, mobile homes and tents offer no meaningful protection.
If caught in a vehicle, the safest option is to drive toward the nearest shelter. If that is not possible, crouching low in the car to protect the head or abandoning the vehicle and lying flat in a low-lying area such as a ditch are considered last-resort options.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends keeping a basic emergency kit stocked at all times, including at least one gallon of water per person per day for three days, a three-day food supply, a battery-powered radio, a flashlight, a first-aid kit and a cell phone charger with a backup battery.
The storm system was expected to exit the Kansas City area after 2 a.m. Saturday and continue moving east.