Magical Meadows Founder Tammy Stackhouse said it looked as if the barn exploded Sunday, April 24. Here is what it looked like one day later. InkFreeNews photo by Dan Spalding.

By Dan Spalding
InkFreeNews

WARSAW – Strong winds destroyed a year-old hay barn at Magical Meadows Sunday afternoon, April 24.

No injuries were reported.

Tammy Stackhouse, the founder of the therapeutic horse farm south of Oswego, was upstairs in her home at Magical Meadows around 4:40 p.m. Sunday when the storm passed through.

She had been upstairs during heavy rainfall when she heard something strike the roof of the main building and decided to look out the window

Stackhouse said it happened in a split second.

“I watched it lift it up, turn it and dump it into the pasture,” Stackhouse said Monday morning.

The facility has 17 horses and about five were near the barn but escaped injury.

Often, some horses will gather on the side of the barn during a rainfall, but Stackhouse said she thinks the horses sensed something and move away.

“They were very shook up, but OK,” she said.

In addition to the structure, the storm destroyed a feeding system and several thousand dollars in hay.

The barn was constructed a year ago after a private gift from James and Jean Northenor.

She said she thinks they may end up doing a GoFundMe campaign to cover the expected shortfall from insurance.

A National Weather Service official said there were no signs of “rotational” activity that would indicate a possible tornado, but said winds during the storm topped out around 50-60 mph.

That area, said meteorologist Mark Steinwedel, saw a wall of rain and wind sweep through.

Total rainfalls ranged from a quarter-inch to an inch, he said.

A look at the damage to the barn. The main building is seen in the background. InkFreeNews photo by Dan Spalding.