You can say it was an eventful school board meeting last night at Morley Stanwood public schools, as the meeting was interrupted by a tornado warning issued in Mecosta County.

According to Superintendent Roger Cole, the board was 30 minutes into a workshop when alerts started piling in.

“We started our workshop at 6:30 P.M. and then had a power outage around 10 minutes to seven,” Cole said. “Then at 7:04, we all received alerts on our phones.”

 

(Image of Morley Stanwood Elementary School damage; credit to Brandon Wirth).

 

Meeting attendees then evacuated into an interior hallway to shelter down during the storm. Power was noticed to go on and off quite a bit, alluding to potential electrical damage within the building. Structural damage from fallen trees and power lines were also found following an examination of the area this morning.

“We had a lady drive to the school in order to find shelter,” Cole said. “We are very grateful and thankful people are safe.”

 

(Image of Northland Drive across from Morley Stanwood schools; credit to Brandon Wirth).

 

Morley Stanwood closed schools Tuesday due to the damage from the storm. Severe, strong winds as well as heavy thunderstorms slammed the area in a storm system moving at speeds up to 60 miles per hour to the northeast between 7:00 P.M. and 7:30 P.M.

When asked about the community’s response, Cole mentioned the tight-knit support is always shown in the community.

“Our small community at Morley Stanwood is great with supporting one another.”

Working crews are currently working at the school in hopes to re-open in the short future.

More significant weather is possible for this evening. Tune into WBRN on 1460 AM, 96.5 and 107.7 FM for hourly Weather Eye forecasts for updates on changing conditions.