Chaos emerged as storms brewed throughout St. Louis Wednesday morning.
Strong storms were reported to hit the St. Louis area throughout the day on May. 8. The biggest threat is large hail and dangerous winds and tornadoes.
As the sky turned dark, concerned parents called their students out as the storms approached.
Before the day of storms, on Tuesday May. 7, rumors rang throughout the school of threats of school closures. Overall it was an executive decision to keep the schools open.
But because of this, student attendance was at a low with more than 400 students being called out of school within the span of a few hours.
“We have had at least 400 students if not more get called out because of the threat of storms,” secretary, Kim Maronic said.
During the duration of lunch, the projector and screen were brought down to show a slideshow of students’ names being dismissed. The faculty worked instantaneously as they brought the plan together to help the front office. Dr. Kiely, connected by a Macbook to the projector, communicated with the front office by using Google chat to gather student names to put on the slideshow. Coach Wheeler also announced on the microphone of students being dismissed in the lunchroom.
While this plan played out perfectly, it created a sense of panic and uncertainty for some students around the school.
“I walked into the lunch room and saw the projector screen pulled down and it made me realize that maybe this storm is bigger than I thought,” Kailey Lawrence said.
But students were not the only people concerned. Teachers around the building expressed their concerns about the ongoing weather. One of them is the art teacher Carrie Middendorf.
“I kept my son home from school because I knew the weather was going to be bad. So I completely understand why parents are calling their kids out of school.” Middendorf said.
As the weather is constantly changing, the National Weather Service is unsure of the future as these storms can be very unpredictable.
Because of the uncertainty, local businesses and stores are closing early due to the threat.
First Baptist Church announced their early closer, along with other companies like GymQuarters Gymnastics Center. Even after-school practices and events were canceled along with the annual Mr. LHS senior pageant.
Storms are expected throughout the night, the National Weather Service recommends staying inside as much as you can, and to stay safe away from windows and possibly falling objects.
