TOPEKA, Kan. — Thousands of homes and businesses across northeast Kansas remained without electricity early Tuesday after severe thunderstorms swept through the region Monday night, downing power lines and causing extensive damage to the electrical grid, utility officials said.

Evergy, the primary electric provider for much of the area, reported more than 65,000 customers without power statewide as of early Tuesday morning, with heavy concentrations in northeast Kansas communities including Topeka, Manhattan, Junction City and surrounding areas. Restoration efforts faced delays due to the scope of the storm damage and ongoing hazardous conditions.

The outages began escalating Monday evening as a cluster of strong thunderstorms moved across the region, bringing damaging winds, heavy rainfall and the risk of tornadoes. The National Weather Service in Topeka had issued warnings highlighting the potential for gusts up to 70-90 mph and localized flooding.

According to Evergy's outage map and local reports, more than 200 customers were affected in and around Topeka, with over 100 reported near Manhattan and Junction City shortly after midnight. Additional impacts hit communities such as Wamego, Fort Riley and Lecompton. The utility indicated that some restoration times could extend due to the need for crews to safely assess and repair downed lines and debris.

Statewide, poweroutage.us tracked approximately 68,500 customers without electricity across Kansas utilities, with Evergy accounting for the vast majority. The storms followed a pattern of active severe weather in the Plains, where spring and early summer systems frequently challenge infrastructure.

Evergy crews were mobilized overnight, prioritizing critical facilities such as hospitals,........

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