Violent winds pounded across the Ball State campus and East Central Indiana Sunday afternoon, damaging a Hartford City supermarket and sent students on campus to the lower levels of residence halls and departmental buildings.
While there was no report of damages in Delaware County, Blackford County was hit hard by the severe weather as a tornado touched down in the area shortly after 2 p.m.
Kevin Connelly, dispatcher at the Blackford County sheriff's department, said at approximately 2:30 p.m. the Marsh supermarket at 1711 N. Walnut St., also known as State Road 3, in Hartford City was hit by the tornado's damaging winds. Within the supermarket, the roof partially collapsed, partnered by a wall being blown out by the storm.
Ball State geography professor David Arnold spent much of his time Sunday surveying the damage at the supermarket. Arnold, who supervises the university's storm-chasing team, said strong winds entered the store through the back loading docks and caused the wall to explode outward. Arnold said the most important factor in stabilizing a building to withstand violent winds is to reinforce its roof. The roof at the Marsh supermarket was anchored to the building, which forced the strong air currents of the storm to escape with an explosion through the building's wall. Though the storms pounded their way through the eastern part of the state, Connelly said Hartford City received the worst damage. The power went out in various parts of the city, there was slight damage reported from local hotel Mayor's Manor and trailers were overturned and thrown into power lines, Connelly said. As of Sunday evening, Connelly said there were still parts of town without power. American Electric Power crews were working to restore power to all areas of the town, but Connelly was unsure when the electrical company would have all power running again. Arnold said Sunday's violent storm - much like the one that hit the state on September 20 - may or may not have been a tornado as preliminary reports stated. He believes the severe weather was the result of a micro-burst, or straight-line wind. According to Arnold, a micro-burst occurs when the warm surface air becomes trapped by the cold atmospheric air as it sweeps down toward the earth. The result is the production of a short blast of air, one mile in length and the equivalent of two city blocks in width. "To the inexperienced (eye), they look like tornadoes," Arnold said. "But the micro-bursts are far more common than tornadoes. Sometimes they are stronger than tornadoes and do more damage." While April through June is the most common season for tornadic activity, Arnold explained that November serves as a second season for such weather to occur. "Fall is a transition season, and there is a tremendous difference in temperatures," he explained. "Humid air goes up, and the rain pulls the cold air down." Arnold said tornadic activity in November often occurs once every two or so years. Already this season, two violent storms have caused concern at Ball State and surrounding east central areas of the state. Arnold said, in reference to wind damage, people should be most concerned about roof damage. If the roof of a building is not securely anchored to its foundation, it is very easy to be picked up by a strong wind. Once the roof comes off, the rest of the building normally collapses or receives other serious damage as a result. Arnold said all buildings on Ball State's campus are secured for such winds. In fact, Arnold said to be inside a campus building during such a violent storm is one of the safest places a student can be. Regardless of this safety, Housing and Residence Life requires all resident assistants to gather occupants of the building to its lowest floor as soon as the tornado siren issued by the National Weather Service is activated. Mike Slocum, an RA at Tichenor Hall and president of the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH), said the past two tornado warnings were the first time he has participated in such safety precautions in the five years he has been a Muncie resident. For the second time this year, residents of DeHority Complex sat in the back corridor of the building's first floor. Slocum said the warning was handled calmly and with fewer questions than last month's occurrence. Students spent only 15 to 20 minutes in the hallway before they were then given the signal to return to their dorm rooms. "Everyone stayed pretty calm, (even though) some complained," Slocum said. "But it's for their own safety."
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