PRAIRIE HOME, Missouri - As area residents slept early today, a microburst struck parts of Prairie Home, taking the roof from the school, windows from the church, and many trees and a few roofs and fences on a three-mile stretch.
Authorities reported no injuries due to the storm that swept through the area late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. The storm was being called a microburst, which is a column of sinking air from a small and intense downdraft. Its winds can be as strong or stronger than some tornadoes.
On Wednesday morning, Superintendent Steven Barnes was at the end of a long dark hallway at the Prairie home elementary school, sweeping water out the back door.
Barnes said: "I got a call around 4:45 a.m. to inform me of the situation. The microburst took the entire roof off the elementary. We have very extensive damage on this end of the complex. Fortunately, the new wing has no damage."
The Cooper County school, located at 301 Highway Drive, enrolled 81 elementary students and 92 students in seventh-12th grades during the 2013-14 year.
Barnes said the community and Prairie Home staff were assisting with the cleanup, moving items before they were damaged and trying to get a roof over the exposed building before more rains came.
Crews on Wednesday were removing debris, limbs and insulation in order to begin efforts to cover the elementary. Everything is being done manually due to no power.
Men were cleaning up glass at the Prairie Home United Methodist Church yard. They felt fortunate to only have a ripple in the siding and a couple windows blown out. The stained-glass windows were all in tact.
Residents said they only lived a couple blocks away from the church and never heard a thing. "It was very shocking to get in my truck this morning and head to town to find this," one Prairie Home resident said.