An unexpected storm hit Johnston on Sept. 19 around 3:30 pm. Severe winds, heavy rain and hail, and lightening shocked students who were working at the time of the storm.

Junior Carlyn Waetke works at a daycare and was at snack with the kids. “The front of the building is all windows and at first we were like ‘Woah, it’s really dark outside’,” Waetke said. “So then I went back into the cafeteria and five minutes later I went back to look at the window. We couldn’t even see the parking lot because of the rain. It was insane and the kids were screaming.”

Other students experienced similar situations. Junior Kaed Sisler, who works at Lutheran Church of Hope in production, was faced with complications. “I was stranded at work without power,” Sisler said. “It was a couple of hours, and we had back up generators, but it still wasn’t very much light.”

The storm caught many off guard. Students and staff at work throughout Johnston were advised to stay inside until the weather subsided.