CANTON − The football gods must have been watching from above Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium — the rain delay for the start of Saturday's Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony has ended.
Rich Desrosiers, chief communications officer at the hall, gave the update around 1:15 p.m.
"Just opening the gates," he said in a text message. "Alert lifted."
No further details were available, including when the first speech would start. According to the hall's website, the start time would be approximately one hour after lightning cleared the area.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement ceremony had been scheduled to begin at noon, but a torrential downpour blasted the Canton area.
Around 11:15 a.m., a scoreboard at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium had read: "Weather. Attention: Severe weather is in the area, please seek shelter immediately."
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More rain and possible storms were in the forecast Saturday, with a 93% chance of rain at 1 p.m. before decreasing to 55% at 2 and 3 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. Chances of rain were supposed to drop to 24% at 5 p.m. and 15% for 6 p.m.
Earlier on Saturday, the Canton Repository Grand Parade was ended early at 10:10 a.m. due to thunder and the threat of rain and bad weather. Rain hadn't fallen in downtown Canton when the parade was cut short. However, the parade started at 8 a.m., and most of it occurred uninterrupted, said Kelly Piero of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The parade route stretches from downtown Canton on Cleveland Avenue to around 25th Street.
Shortly after the last parade unit began moving, the decision was made to end the event, she said. "I believe the last unit was around Ninth to 12th Street (NW) when it was called," Piero said.
The Greater Alliance Carnation Festival also canceled the auto show and pedal tractor pulls because of the rain.
Roughly two inches of rain fell in 45 minutes or less
Tim Warstler, director of the Stark County Emergency Management Agency, said a deluge of rain blasted the Canton area. Around two inches fell in 45 minutes or less, he said.
The bad news was it flooded some roads because the water couldn't drain fast enough. The good news was that although some of the larger local streams rose around two feet in less than an hour, they aren't near flood stage because water levels were already low, Warstler said.
Flash flood warning for Canton area
The National Weather Service in Cleveland issued a flash flood warning for the area.
At 11:59 a.m., radar and gauges indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain throughout Stark County. Between 1 to 3 inches of rain had fallen.
Additional rainfall of up to 1 inch is possible in the Canton area, the weather service said.
Areas that will experience flash flooding include Canton, Massillon, Green, North Canton, Meyers Lake, Hills and Dales, Greentown, Perry Heights and parts of Lake Township.
Flooded streets in Jackson Township were reported. Wartstler said flooding occurred on Belden Village Street NW in Jackson Township near Belden Village Mall.
At 11:30 a.m., the stream gauge along Zimber Ditch in the North Canton area had reached 8.9 feet and was rising. Flood stage is 9.5 feet., the National Weather Service said.
Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com .
On X (formerly Twitter) @ebalintREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stadium gates open after rain delays Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony
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