Storm damages FSU MagLab, operations suspended next week
Storms have damaged what many Tallahassee residents joke is the city's first line of defense against severe weather.
The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory sustained damage Friday after tornados and thunderstorms crashed through the city that morning, cutting the power off to tens of thousands of residents and felling trees that smashed into cars and homes.
The Mag Lab has suspended user operations of high field magnets next week "as a precaution," Florida State University spokesperson Dennis Schnittker told the Democrat.
As of Friday early evening, university crews were assessing the damage and cleaning up.
The MagLab houses the world's strongest magnet. Over 30,500 physicists, chemists, biologists and engineers from 54 countries have worked at the lab since its inception in 1994. Over 1,700 scientists use the laboratory for research every year. Local lore has long held that the magnetic resonance steers storms around Florida's capital city.
As for FSU's main campus, Schnittker said he expected power to be restored by the evening.
Other parts of FSU campus were also affected by the storm.
Near the football stadium, the tornado-force winds ripped the The "Flying High" Circus tent to the ground.
The tent material twisted around gnarled metal beams on the soaked ground, and the circular bleachers were shattered in multiple spots.
Dick Howser Stadium's tall, green fence in the right field fell and leaned over the rest of the right field wall on Friday morning. The right field foul pole was also severely bent to the right.
Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Storm damages Florida State MagLab, operations suspended
