By Alabama Public Radio
Fort Payne, AL – Football practice at Fort Payne High School was disrupted Monday by a bolt of lightning followed by high winds and heavy rain. Witnesses say the storm appeared to be a tornado. The storm blew over the visiting bleachers at Wildcat Stadium. It leveled the outfield fence at the high school baseball field and knocked down trees. Fort Payne school superintendent Jimmy Cunningham says the damage was massive. Cunningham says he's not sure if the stadium will be ready before Fort Payne's first home football game of the season. That is scheduled for September 2 against Buckhorn. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service reported that the incident was caused by two storm cells merging, but it did not call the storm a tornado.