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A violent thunderstorm and the threat of tornadoes stopped the Texas Rangers-Chicago White Sox game in the fourth inning on Tuesday night and authorities went even farther with their precautions, evacuating fans from the stands at Rangers Ballpark.
With civil defense sirens blaring because the Arlington area was under a tornado warning, fans were directed away from seating areas — many through the ballpark's dugouts — and were reportedly funneled to underground tunnels inside the park.
Officials probably did not want to take any chances, considering the recent destruction in Joplin, Mo. and elsewhere because of tornadoes.
Hail the size of golf balls came down after the grounds crew put the tarp on the field.
Reporters on the scene (and folks watching on TV) tweeted ominous photos of clouds, precipitation coming down and fans filing through any open exit.
Thankfully, the line of storms yielded no tornadoes. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News wondered where all of the fans were going to go, because they all didn't seem to fit underneath the ballpark where they were being directed.*
About 15 minutes after the hail storm, fans began returning to their seats and the grounds crew removed the tarp — though another line of storms had been predicted to come through, so they immediately put it back on.
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