Torrential storms dumped between six and ten inches of rain across the Kansas City metropolitan area overnight, turning residential streets and rail yards into rivers and prompting life-threatening flash floods early Thursday. The National Weather Service extended its flash-flood warning for the region until 9 a.m. after radar showed rainfall rates approaching three inches an hour. The Kansas City Fire Department said it had carried out at least 18 high-water rescues, while police closed multiple roads in Shawnee, Kansas, and urged residents to stay off the streets. Forecasters warned that an additional two inches of rain and wind gusts up to 60 mph were possible as the slow-moving storm system shifted southward. Emergency managers asked motorists to avoid low-lying areas and reminded the public not to drive through flooded roadways, noting that floodwaters could take hours to recede even after the heaviest downpours end.