MADISON COUNTY — The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-2 tornado touched down in rural Madison County and damaged a community school building.
The fieldhouse in the Frankton-Lapel School Administration building near Perkinsville was torn apart by the storm. A brick wall collapsed onto the basketball court, beams fell onto nearby school buses, and the roof ended up 100 yards away in a cornfield.
"It does look like it wasn't a continuous track," said Sam Lashley, who evaluated the storm for National Weather Service Indianapolis. "It was just bouncing up and down from the Hamilton/Madison County line to about this location."
The building once served as Jackson Middle School. Jackson alumnus Scott Smith drove to the complex from Hancock County to see what the tornado destroyed.
"Not to get mushy eyed, but its where I went to school," Smith said. "You read about it and hear about it in the news and everybody gets numb to it, but when it happens to you, it's up close and personal."
No injuries were reported and Frankton-Lapel Schools staff were able to continue their work in the undamaged half of the building.
Superintendent Sterling Boles sent a statement to WRTV:
"The administration building gym and several buses have sustained significant damage, which has unfortunately impacted their functionality. We are currently assessing the extent of the damage and working on repairs."
-Sterling Boles, Frankton-Lapel School Superintendent
The district does not anticipate the tornado's damage will affect the first day of school, which is planned for Aug. 7.
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In Henry County, a trained spotter reported a funnel cloud in the area on Monday.
Tuesday morning daylight showed damage to a building near Cherrywood Avenue and S. 14th Street.
A tree was also found on a truck near 14th Street and Morton Avenue.
