A school in Gary, Indiana canceled classes Thursday and Friday after severe weather left the school’s gymnasium with heavy damage. Lisa Chavarria has more.
A school in northwest Indiana will be closed Thursday and Friday after severe weather Wednesday caused major damage to the building, administrators said, with photos and video showing parts of the school's roof torn off.
The canceled classes come as thunderstorms and hail tore through northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, with tornado watches and warnings and winds gusting higher than 60 miles per hour. Later Thursday, the National Weather Service said preliminary survey reports confirmed an EF-1 tornado had touched down in Gary.
Officials at the school, Frankie Woods McCullough Academy, made the decision to cancel classes late Wednesday, announcing to families the school would be closed for the remainder of the week due to damage.
"We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding during this time," the letter to families said. "We are especially grateful that no one was injured during this weather emergency."
In an update Thursday morning, Chief of Public and Community Relations for the Gary Community School Corporation Chelsea Wittington said there school had sustained "substantial damage" to the gymnasium.
"You can actually see the sky from the gymnasium," Wittington said. "Daylight will be what will tell the full extent of the damage."
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Wittington added that though officials knew there was a forecast for tornadoes, the area is typically spared of major damage.
According to school officials, no one was injured.
School officials Thursday morning added that the closures mean spring break, set to begin Monday, will start early for students. Information about report cards and parent-teacher conferences will be provided to families, officials said.
Wittington added officials will work to asses the damage to see if the students can return to the school, or if they will need to be relocated to a different building following the break.
Early Thursday morning, snow was falling in Gary, with a winter weather advisory in effect through 7 a.m. A wind advisory was also in effect through 7 a.m., with winds gusting in the area upwards of 45 miles per hour, the NBC 5 Storm Team said.
