July 8, 2014

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Summer storms have become all too familiar for Missouri residents and a storm producing winds in excess of 60 mph (gusts approaching 75 mph) ripped through Mid-Missouri and the MU Sports Park on Monday night, leaving trees outside of Mizzou Arena uprooted, a maintenance storage shed south of Faurot Field severely damaged and track and soccer equipment displaced and mangled.

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The storm occurred in Columbia at approximately 11:30 p.m. on Monday night and left many Columbia residents without power. The storm knocked out light and telephone poles and littered city streets with branches, leaves and other debris.

"The hardest hit area in our Sports Park was the storage shed behind Faurot Field," Colleen Lamond, Mizzou's Associate AD for Facility Operations and Event Management said. "We have a local tree removal company on site and our facilities folks have been working on the cleanup since early this morning."

The tree, which fell on the Faurot Field maintenance shed, will leave the building currently unusable. The large fir tree outside of Mizzou Arena remains uprooted as crews work diligently to clean up the area after the late-night storm.

Also affected was the Audrey J. Walton Track/Soccer Field Stadium and the Hearnes Center roof. The winds were powerful enough to lift up pole vault and high jump mats and displace them near the stands.

Nearby at University Field, temporary bleachers were flipped over and mangled. Portions of the Hearnes Center roof were also ripped up, however the Mizzou facilities staff has been able to patch those areas and further corrections will be taken. Debris removal will be an ongoing effort for the entire department.