A storm and tornado warning that shook Eastern during move-in day on Thursday left freshmen and transfer students scrambling to move in.

Cameron Craig, a geography professor, said a cold front moving through the area caused the storm that hit Charleston in the late afternoon.

“When we don’t have any rain for two months, people forget,” he said. “Eventually when something major like this does happen, it’s the worst thing ever.”

Craig said there were reports of hail and telephone poles that were snapped in half because of streamline winds.

“It’s just one of those events that is exciting because we haven’t seen rain like this in two months,” he said. “Around April was the last time we saw anything comparing to (the Thursday storm).”

Mark Hudson, the director of University Housing and Dining Services, said the storm threw off the move-in process.

“We had to cease all operations,” Hudson said. “The storm had a big impact on our picnic and we had to move everybody inside.”

The “Welcome to the Neighborhood Picnic,” which was supposed to take place in the South Quad Thursday afternoon, was moved inside to Taylor Hall because of the storm.

“I know the bad weather forced some people to delay their departure out of Chicago,” Hudson said. “I also heard that someone’s car was struck by lightning en route.”

Chad Hensley, a freshman undecided major, said he was in the process of moving in and unpacking when the storm hit.

“We had to go to Walmart to get a cable cord and as we were checking out, the sky went black and we got stuck in there for an hour,” he said. “By the time we got back, all the activities were done.”

Annelise Klank, a freshman business major, had a similar story to tell.

“We almost got stuck in Walmart, but I was begging for them to let us leave,” she said. “We ran out of there and went to my sister’s house where we stood outside and watched the storm.”

Ashlen Powles, a freshman special education major, said she had been eating outside at the picnic when the storm hit.

“We had to run inside and hung out in the basement,” she said. “I spent time with my family because they were leaving.”

Katlyn Mulvihill, a Taylor Hall desk assistant and sophomore special education major, said trying to move people into their rooms during the storm was stressful and some parents were aggravated because they wanted to get back on the road.

“It was so crowded, and there were a lot of little kids that were crying because they were scared,” Mulvihill said.

Anne Youakim, a secretary in Taylor and Lawson halls, said she had some difficulty with getting people to move downstairs.

“Some people chose to stay upstairs, but for the most part everybody was pretty calm,” she said. “Parents were a little agitated that the picnic was delayed, but we promised to feed them.”

Youakim said she heard from Taylor Hall dining workers that the inside picnic was chaotic because of the last-minute location change.

“I was with the parents and telling them ‘we normally don’t plan something this dramatic for move-in day,’” she said.

Robyn Dexter can be reachedat 581-2812 or redexter@eiu.edu.