Saturday events

Family story time planned
Family story time will be held from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 25, at the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, 625 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. This program is geared to ages 2 to 6. There will be a story, dancing and singing. For other library programs, visit www.kckpl.org.

Folk dancing planned
“Programa de Folklorico” is planned from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 25, in Conference Room A at the South Branch Library, 3104 Strong Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. The Spanish language program is for children, teens and adults. Lugarda Rodriguez is the presenter.

Spanish singing lessons planned
“Clases de Canto,” or Spanish singing lessons, are planned from noon to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 25, in Conference Room B, South Branch Library, 3104 Strong Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. The Spanish language singing class is taught by Sandra Zamora. For other library programs, visit www.kckpl.org.

Children’s craft program offered
Children will make ice cream door hangers in a craft program from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 25, at the Main Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, youth services craft room, second floor, 625 Minnesota Ave. Children willuse foam pieces to create a personalized ice cream cone door hanger. The craft is for ages r to 12.

African-American Book Club to meet
The African-American Book Club, Infinite Shades of Brown, will meet from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 25, at the Main Library, 625 Minnesota Ave., first floor meeting room, Kansas City, Kansas. This month the group will discuss the novel, “The Wedding Date,” by Jasmine Guillory.

Events scheduled at National World War I Museum and Memorial
The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, will be the site of a free public events during Memorial Day weekend. The weekend is full of activities and events honoring men and women who sacrificed their lives while serving their country. Nearly 20 vehicles will be on the Museum and Memorial grounds from World War II, Korean War and Operation Desert Storm from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 25, and Sunday, May 26, and a Vietnam-era Huey helicopter from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 25, through Monday, May 27. Hands-on History – People of all ages are invited to handle Great War artifacts at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 25. For more information, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/free-public-memorial-day-ceremony-to-be-monday-at-world-war-i-museum/.

More flooding expected in coming days

The Missouri River at Parkville, which covers Wyandotte County, is projected to rise to 30.5 feet, moderate flood stage, on Saturday night and Sunday morning. The hydrology charts change from day to day. (National Weather Service – USGS graphic)
The Kansas River at 23rd Street, where the gauge is at Kansas Avenue and the state line, is projected to rise to 36.7 feet, minor flood stage, on Saturday night and Sunday morning. (National Weather Service – USGS graphic)

More flooding is expected in coming days along the Missouri River and its tributaries, according to Corps of Engineers officials.

Officials said at a Friday telephone news conference that there has been significant rainfall in the past few days, and additional rainfall this weekend could result in flooding here.

The Kansas City District of the Corps of Engineers has issued 400,000 sandbags to Kansas and Missouri communities, along with deploying pumps and barriers. It also has provided engineering teams to help communities.

When flooding began earlier this week, 16 levees east of Kansas City had overtopped or breached, and seven more were reported on May 24, according to officials.

The next day will bring showers, thunderstorms and heavy rain in the region. Friday’s storms were predicted to result in 1.5 inches of rain, with Saturday bringing one-half to 1.5 inches of rain.

More precipitation was in the forecast for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, while Wednesday to Friday will see very little rain. One week from now, on Saturday, June 1, rainfall will start again across the Missouri River basin, officials said.

Reservoirs in South Dakota and in Kansas to release more water into the Missouri and Kansas rivers

There were heavy inflows of water into lower parts of the Missouri River basin on Thursday, resulting in a need to increase the releases from Gavins Point dam from 55,000 to 60,000 cubic feet per second, according to Corps of Engineers officials.

On Friday, there were decreased flowed from Garrison dam, dropping from 30,000 to 25,000 on Friday and another 5,000 decrease on Saturday, according to officials. Pools at Oahe and Ft. Randall will be pushed into the exclusive flood control zones, where they will remain for the next several weeks.

On Saturday, May 25, the Corps of Engineers plans to begin flood water releases from Perry Lake in Perry, Kansas, if there is heavy rain this weekend that fills the reservoir’s remaining storage capacity, officials said.

If heavy rains necessitate releases, Perry Lake will slowly ramp up water releases through the outlet works, according to officials. Releases could be up to 20,000 cubic feet per second into the Kansas River. Officials said the volume of releases would depend on inflows into the reservoir.

There also is the potential for releases from Tuttle Creek dam in Manhattan, Kansas, beginning Monday, May 27, through an outlet works known as “the tubes,” officials said.

Water levels are high at the reservoirs, and anyone who is on or near the water is asked to wear a life jacket, officials said. There are risks associated with high water, including floating debris and obstructions covered by water, which can create dangerous boating conditions, according to officials.

People are asked not to drive or walk into flood waters on the road, to turn around and take another route. People should never enter standing or moving water to cross a road.

For up-to-date weather information, visit www.weather.gov.

Flash flood warning continues until 1 a.m. Saturday

A flash flood warning continues in Wyandotte County until 1 a.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

There also is a flash flood watch until 1 p.m. Saturday in Wyandotte County, the weather service said.

Up to 2 inches of rain fell on Friday night, with additional heavy rain expected overnight, according to the weather service.

Local law enforcement officials reported numerous closed roadways due to high water throughout the metropolitan Kansas City area. Flash flooding is expected to continue into the overnight.

Residents are advised to turn around and not try to drive through flooded roadways.

At one point, power was off to about 7,000 Wyandotte County customers of the Board of Public Utilities.