Minn. Metrodome Collapses in Midwest Blizzard

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MINNEAPOLIS – A storm that spanned parts of eight states continued to dump heavy snow in the upper Midwest on Sunday, collapsing the Metrodome in Minneapolis and forcing numerous road closures.

The storm was moving eastward a day after it dumped 20 inches of snow in some places. A Sunday NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings had already been pushed to Monday because the Giants couldn't get to Minneapolis to play when the inflatable Metrodome collapsed Sunday. It's uncertain when that game will now be played
.

That is a lot of snow! Remember Katrina, when the roof became unstable in that arena they had all the people at? Are these giant buildings not being built properly to withstand extreme weather? Could that be on purpose, as in hoping lots of people are inside when the integrity of the roof gives out?

At any rate, conspiracy or not, this is one hell of a storm!!

I don't think anything sinister is involved, unless you want to point a finger at mother nature and her conspiracy to strike back at us human dumb asses. Minneapolis had over 20 inches of snow, and although I'm not sure about the age of the building, I am assuming it's one of the older stadiums in the country, as is the Superdome, which was built in the 70's.

I wonder where and if this game is going to be played? I am an AVID football fan, lol.....

reply to post by justsaying


I think the dome had one of those bubble roofs thats why it collapsed. lol. Yesterday they moved the game to monday, but now I think they'll have to move it somewhere else. Who knows?

I'm also an avid football fan.

Well I am not a sports fan by any means, but this does disturb me that buildings meant to seat thousands of people are not structurally sound. So many kids fill these stands!

At least the structural failure occured BEFORE the game and not DURING!!!!

Now that it is known it will, hopefully, get correctly repaired and not a bandaid repair.

Originally posted by Casing
At least the structural failure occured BEFORE the game and not DURING!!!!

At least now it is known, and hopefully, correctly repaired and not a bandaid repair.

This is very true, Thank GOD for small miracles, I suppose!

Good thing they couldn't get there in time. Imagine if they would've? The game wouldn't have been postponed.
Maybe it's just years of wear and tear, a sign to check other roof's of huge stadiums, if there is already a small pattern of these roof's taking hits and getting damaged til they crumble....just a thought


I am NOT an avid football fan

Originally posted by WeBrooklyn
Good thing they couldn't get there in time. Imagine if they would've? The game wouldn't have been postponed.
Maybe it's just years of wear and tear, a sign to check other roof's of huge stadiums, if there is already a small pattern of these roof's taking hits and getting damaged til they crumble....just a thought


I am NOT an avid football fan

That is a disturbing thought to me. Is this city so broke they failed to check the roof each year? I always hate hearing about stories like this, it calls into question the safety of our buildings, and the lack of inspections, etc. that could prevent tragedies. This time, no tragedy (unless taxes are raised to repair it!!!). Next time....what city, whose loved ones?

reply to post by WeBrooklyn


The roof was an air roof, not much structure to it at all. it was kinda like a soft cushion.

- You should be an avid football fan! lets have a beer and eat pizza!

reply to post by hotbakedtater

nothing like Colosseum games to distract Rome from the woes that plague its empire.

there is no doubt that people who need help will be pushed further out of view for this top priority.

another dome ravaged by weather. reminds me of new Orleans...did those survivors ever get their checks BTW?

I feel sorry for the groups up there on the roof, trying to shovel out/off the snow.
It looks cold and absolutely futile. I'm not sure where Fox news is located, but they're acting as though -20 is too hard for the average citizen to cope with, so much emotion in their voices when they report on the weather

Snow's heavy, even heavier when wet. There needs to be ways to get it off of roofs when it accumulates.

reply to post by hotbakedtater

That is a disturbing thought to me. Is this city so broke they failed to check the roof each year? I always hate hearing about stories like this, it calls into question the safety of our buildings, and the lack of inspections, etc. that could prevent tragedies. This time, no tragedy (unless taxes are raised to repair it!!!). Next time....what city, whose loved ones?

At times I dont think it has anything to do with the money. It can be politics, laziness, etc. There are dangers like these lurking everywhere and it's scary to think a place where tens of thousands of people meet. Look at this recent article from my area.

NEW YORK (CBS 2) — There were new and disturbing reports out Friday night detailing years of deception at the MTA. The reports claim inspection records were doctored or even made up, possibly sacrificing riders’ safety to meet deadlines. A steep increase in required signal inspections became so overwhelming for MTA supervisors and staffers that they faked the reports – thousands of them.

CBS2NEWS

Imagine because of this, a signal fails in the middle of evening rush hour where tens of thousands are traveling underground. Im sure there are more of these everywhere but im very happy that roof collapsed early.

reply to post by mayabong

The roof was an air roof, not much structure to it at all. it was kinda like a soft cushion.

I didnt know that, still a scary thought...

- You should be an avid football fan! lets have a beer and eat pizza!

Dude, Im an avid beer and pizza consumer

Well the blizzard hit here this morning we've had 1/4" so far. They say we will have 14" - 20" It better start pretty soon!!! I think they missed it for south west Michigan just like last week.. I live and work right on Lake Michigan.

From the National Weather Service

Winter Storm Warning
INZ003>005-014-016-MIZ077-078-121800-
/O.CON.KIWX.WS.W.0004.000000T0000Z-101214T0600Z/
LA PORTE-ST. JOSEPH IN-ELKHART-MARSHALL-KOSCIUSKO-BERRIEN-CASS MI-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MICHIGAN CITY...LA PORTE...SOUTH BEND...
MISHAWAKA...NEW CARLISLE...WALKERTON...ELKHART...GOSHEN...
NAPPANEE...PLYMOUTH...BREMEN...CULVER...WARSAW...WINONA LAKE...
SYRACUSE...MENTONE...NILES...BENTON HARBOR...ST. JOSEPH...
BUCHANAN...DOWAGIAC...CASSOPOLIS...MARCELLUS
353 AM EST SUN DEC 12 2010 /253 AM CST SUN DEC 12 2010/

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST
/MIDNIGHT CST/ TUESDAY...

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST /MIDNIGHT
CST/ TUESDAY.

* TIMING...SNOW WILL DEVELOP THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH
THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE TRANSITIONING TO A BAND OF HEAVY LAKE
EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS THIS EVENING. WINDS WILL INCREASE THIS
AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE STRONG THROUGH MONDAY CAUSING
WIDESPREAD BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.

* MAIN IMPACT...TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 14 INCHES OF SNOW...
WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS OF 16 TO 20 INCHES CLOSER TO LAKE
MICHIGAN ARE EXPECTED. STRONG WINDS WILL CAUSE WIDESPREAD
BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF THE SNOW AND SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE
VISIBILITIES STARTING THIS AFTERNOON.

* OTHER IMPACTS...MOTORISTS WILL LIKELY ENCOUNTER RAPIDLY
CHANGING CONDITIONS...WITH ROADS BEING SNOW COVERED...SLIPPERY
AND IN SOME AREAS IMPASSABLE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW MEANS
SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING.
SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL
DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP
AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT... FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE
OF AN EMERGENCY.

When I lived in Minneapolis the apartment I had for 2 years was 4 blocks from the dome.

It collapsed onece in 1982 which was the first year the Vikings played in it and it
has collapsed at lest three times since then.

This storm had quite a bit more snow than the other times so it may be a while
before they can remove all the snow from the top and make the needed repairs.

Originally posted by kc0jfy
When I lived in Minneapolis the apartment I had for 2 years was 4 blocks from the dome.

It collapsed onece in 1982 which was the first year the Vikings played in it and it
has collapsed at lest three times since then.

This storm had quite a bit more snow than the other times so it may be a while
before they can remove all the snow from the top and make the needed repairs.

Oh, wow!

That's a terrible track record!

Greeting from Minneapolis. The Metrodome roof is air-supported. When it collapses, which it was designed to do in the event of snow loading, or power failure to the fans that pressurize the air inside the structure, the fabric roof remains suspended above the stadium by steel cables. You would not be in any serious danger if it collapsed while you were in there.

You enter the dome through revolving doors so that air doesn't rush out. After the game is over, to facilitate the exiting of the crowd, the normal doors are opened and a strong rush of air actually blows you out the doors. It' fun.

The Vikings' season has imploded in every way possible.

As below so above.

I was just watching the NFL pregame show on Fox and they showed video of the collapse from the inside. WOW, that was eerie. On a side not, for those that are more concerned about the game than the dome, the game will be played in Detroit tomorrow night.

Here is a video of the collapse, from the inside:

nfl.fanhouse.com...