Storm leaves its mark on Perkins scoreboard

University officials continue to assess damages left in the wake of Tuesday night’s thunderstorm, which knocked down trees on campus and tore off the display on the backside of the soccer field scoreboard.

Lightning strikes near The Cambridge apartment complex Tuesday during the severe thunderstorm that knocked down trees and part of the Citizens 1st Bank Perkins Soccer Complex sign.

The storm packed lightning, hail and winds greater than 50 mph, according to weather experts.

University officials plan to repair the scoreboard but the cost is still unknown, Gregg Lassen, vice president for business affairs said.

“We can’t budget for events like this,” Lassen said. “We do have a general maintenance fund, which we can pull from.”

The National Weather Service radar showed a line of thunderstorms, which extended as far south as San Antonio and north to Kansas. The NWS also received reports of strong straight-line winds and up to golf ball-sized hail all across Smith County.

Jeff Akin, public information officer for Tyler Fire Department, said the department responded to calls for fallen power lines in the city.

“When storms come through, we usually have a few power lines get knocked down due to broken tree branches,” Akin said. “We dispatch trucks to the scene until the power company arrives.”

Akin said, based on his experience, Tuesday’s storm was not very bad.

“We’ve had storms where we would get more than 30 weather related calls,” he said. “Tuesday night, we only received about six.”

Payton Low, representative for the University’s emergency management team, said no tornadoes were reported in Smith County on Tuesday.

“University officials monitored the weather throughout the event,” Low said. “We were prepared to notify the campus via text message and the outdoor warning system if there had been a threat of immediate danger.”