Meade High School Hit Hard By Recent Storm

MEADE, Kan.  - No injuries were reported following a storm which hit Meade, Kans., Thursday evening. There were, however, damages.

Meade High School officials announced the high school students were not be having classes Friday as a result of the significant damage that was done to the high school building around 7:41 p.m., Thursday evening.

"Due to extensive storm damage, Meade High will not have school tomorrow 8.30.24," the USD 226 said on Facebook Thursday evening. "Meade Elementary WILL BE in session as normal. All activities are still on as planned."

National Weather Service estimated that the damage was caused by a microburst containing 80 to 85 mph winds, according to a spokesperson from Meade County Emergency Management.

Preliminary damages have been estimated at $500,000 or more, according to what Interim USD 226 Superintendent Rex Bruce said in an interview with KWCH News.

“I get a phone call from a school board member, frantic,” Bruce told KWCH. “He was (at the high school) while it was happening and he said he just dodged a hood from a car. Well, it wasn’t a hood from a car, but it was a part of an air conditioner from our roof.”

The roof of the building was one of the things to be affected, with a 20x80 feet section being "peeled off and blown across the street".  Debris also punched several holes throughout other areas of the roof that remained, Bruce said, adding that the most extensive damage was "to a server and technology room that also included 3-D printers". The scoreboard at the football stadium was blown away and the storm sent metal dumpsters through fences, according to Bruce, who added that, “it sent debris a quarter of a mile away.”

Bruce said the district’s insurance should cover the damages without needing to raise money for repairs. He commended students and staff, who, in true Buffalo style, voluntarily arrived to help with cleanup Thursday night and early Friday morning.

A roofing company was already on scene Friday morning to begin needed repairs.

Some classes may have to make different accommodations and use other rooms for awhile, according to Bruce, who said he expects "all students back at the high school when classes resume Tuesday after the Labor Day break".