Brief Saturday morning storm causes downed lines at Waterworks Road and McArthur Drive

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- Evergy said a brief storm was the reason for downed power lines and live wires in the area of Waterworks Road and McArthur Drive early Saturday morning.

St. Joseph safety officials issued a Nixle Alert at 4:40 a.m. urging residents to avoid the area near the Interstate 229 overpass due to live wires.

KQ2 reached out to Evergy crews, who said the storm caused approximately a maximum of 5,000 customers to experience power outages during and after the storm.

Additionally, Evergy said around 3,000 of those customers had their power restored as of 11 a.m. Saturday morning. Crews are continuing to work safely to restore power to those affected.

By approximately 1:15 p.m. Saturday, fewer than 350 St. Joseph customers were affected.

Safety officials cleared the area of Waterworks Road and McArthur Drive before 6:30 a.m. Saturday.

Evergy's outage map as of 1:15 p.m. Saturday also noted that over 8,000 customers in the Northwest Missouri region are without power.

Evergy warned to stay at least 30 feet away from a downed power line. Assume all downed lines are energized.

To report downed power lines, visit www.evergy.com/powerlinesafety, and in an emergency, contact 911 and then contact Evergy.