Hail wreaks havoc at Missouri zoo, kills Adam the Emu. ‘Never seen anything like this’
A severe storm, with some hail larger than softballs, rained down on southwest Missouri Tuesday, damaging scores of cars and buildings and killing an animal at the Springfield zoo.
Dickerson Park Zoo, in north Springfield, was still closed Wednesday. And as staff worked to clean up debris and assess damage across the property, “heartbroken keepers” were dealing with the loss of a 21-year-old female emu named Adam, said Joey Powell, a zoo spokesperson.
“You’ve just never seen anything like this,” Powell said of Tuesday’s storm. “It just came up extremely, extremely fast.”
And the intensity was immense, she said, with staff amazed at the size of the hail.
“I mean, the balls were probably larger than (the emu’s) head, or as big as her head,” Powell said. “They were just huge.
“Keepers were moving to get all the animals in, and you can’t make some of them move. ... You can’t get them to do exactly what you want. Of course, there’s some fear.”
Another bird, a rhea, was also injured and is being treated.
The storm hit that area before noon on Tuesday, said Eric Wise, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Springfield.
“We got several reports (of hail) ranging from tennis balls up to 4, 4 1/2 inches,” Wise said.
Damage at the zoo
Guests were visiting the zoo, including two field trip groups, at the time of the storm. Everyone was moved to “sheltered areas,” Powell said. No staff or guests were injured.
On Wednesday, the focus at the zoo was on clearing away debris and hopefully getting everything ready to open on Thursday.
“It’s roof damage, it’s skylight damage,” Powell said. “There’s glass, there’s limbs. Our maintenance is working to clear off the paths.”
A year ago Wednesday, a tornado went through the area. But Powell said, “this is more damage than last year.”
Among the property casualties were countless cars and vehicles. Not just at the zoo but in other parts of Springfield.
“I just dropped mine off this morning,” Powell said. “And they’re saying it’s probably totaled.”
Tuesday’s hailstorm appears to have topped past ones in the Greene County city.
“Springfield has recorded four events that have had 3-inch size hail,” said Wise, of the National Weather Service in Springfield. “So the four inches is bigger than those four largest events before this.”
