Bad weather lengthens dismissals

Students heading home Wednesday afternoon encountered more after-school traffic congestion than the usual when two tornado warnings and several thunderstorm warnings were issued in Boone County.

Heavy rain, hail — ranging in size from peas to golf balls — and flash flooding characterized the storm, said Suzanne Fred of Boone County’s Public Safety Joint Communications Center.

Cheryl Cozette, assistant superintendent for Columbia Public Schools, said each school decided individually which precautions to take.

“Some (schools) were in the process of dismissing kids, so they had to handle it differently,” Cozette said.

Hickman High School began dismissing at 2:45 p.m. as usual, Principal Wanda Brown said. Once the storm came, some buses had to turn around and come back because of dangerous road conditions.

When the sirens went off, Brown said they made an announcement about safety. “We told them to go to the basement and interior areas for safety,” Brown said.

Students and faculty waited for about 45 minutes before they were allowed to leave, Brown said.

Weather concerns began early Wednesday afternoon. Fred said the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for northern Boone County at 2:16 p.m., in effect until 2:45 p.m., and issued a second tornado warning at 2:55 p.m. for Boone, southwest Audrain and northwest Callaway counties, in effect until 3:45 p.m.

The warnings were based on readings from Doppler radar that indicated tornado formation, according to the National Weather Service. Tornado sirens in Columbia were sounded for both warnings, but no tornadoes touched down in Boone County.

Five severe thunderstorm warnings and a flash flood warning for Boone County were issued between 1:54 p.m. and 5:43 p.m.

Flash flooding caused some roads to close throughout the afternoon. Around 5 p.m., there were nearly 6 inches of water north of Broadway on College Avenue, and a foot of water covered Blackfoot Road at the Columbia city limits. No hail damage or structural damage was reported, Fred said.