England’s first evening at their World Cup training base saw Kansas City hit by extreme weather and a ‘deadly’ tornado warning issued.
The Three Lions arrived at Swope Soccer Village in Missouri on Saturday lunchtime, having been stationed at West Palm Beach in Florida following their initial arrival in the United States for pre-tournament friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica.
After taking part in a community training session amid searing temperatures on Victory Field, Thomas Tuchel’s squad were later forced to take shelter inside their hotel - The Inn at Meadowbrook in Prairie Village - due to the arrival of a heavy thunderstorm that prompted emergency warnings from the National Weather Service.
“Critical. Imminent Threat Alert,” read the alert sent to phones.
“National Weather Service: SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING in effect for this area until 9:00 PM CDT for DESTRUCTIVE 80 mph winds.
“Take shelter in a sturdy building, away from windows. Flying debris may be deadly to those caught without shelter.
“For your protection, move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.”
A tornado did not end up occurring in the area around England’s training base, though there were thundery downpours and lightning.
Inclement weather is expected to disrupt a number of games at a World Cup finals that now totals 104 following its expansion to 48 teams, with current US storm protocol for outdoor sporting events dictating that a match must be delayed or suspended if lightning or electrical discharge is detected within an eight-mile radius.
After players and coaches return to the dressing rooms and fans are told to evacuate the stands for safe shelter, a 30-minute timer is then set, during which period there can be no further lightning.
If there is, then the timer is reset each time and the event cannot restart until the area has been clear of lightning for a full 30 minutes.
Kick-off in England’s final World Cup warm-up friendly against Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday was delayed by an hour due to thunderstorms that initially left much of the pitch at Inter&Co Stadium badly waterlogged, before it quickly drained.
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake that struck off the west coast of Cuba also caused tremors across Florida during England’s preparations to face Costa Rica.
Other World Cup warm-up games were also affected by storms, including Saudi Arabia’s 3-0 win over Puerto Rico in Austin, Texas last week.
At last year’s inaugural summer Club World Cup held in the US, several matches were impacted by storms including Chelsea’s last-16 win over Benfica in Charlotte, North Carolina, which took more than four hours to complete after a weather delay that lasted for almost two hours.
England open their World Cup campaign against Croatia at Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium) in Arlington, Texas on Wednesday, before facing Ghana at Boston Stadium (Gillette Stadium) in Foxborough, Massachusetts on June 23.
They finish Group L against Panama at New York New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium) in East Rutherford on June 27.
Additional information from the Press Association.
