Storm Strikes Busch

The first of a series of severe storms that hit St. Louis slammed into the city’s Busch Stadium July 19th, injuring 30 people and sending five of them to local hospitals just before the start of a scheduled baseball game between the Cardinals and Atlanta Braves.

Winds clocked at nearly 80 mph blew out press box windows, tossed concession stands like toys, and shredded the field’s protective tarp. Lower levels were flooded but the game went on after the storm passed.

Among the injuries requiring hospitalization were one for a dislocated hip, another with a dislocated shoulder, two back injuries and a seizure that was not directly related to the storm, Accu-Care supervisor Norm Corley said. Accu-Care handles medical issues at the new stadium.

At least one press box pane – about 10 feet by 5 feet and made of hard plastic – popped out of place and flew into the stands while the rest fell back into the box. A home video making the rounds on the Internet shows a fan being knocked up and over a trash can as it and other debris literally blow through a stadium concourse.

The $365 million ballpark opened this season in a lot adjacent to the old Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals spent the previous four decades.

Severe storms continued blowing through the region for several days, with the two largest knocking out power for hundreds of thousands and causing scattered heavy damage.