Talk about dramatic timing. London South Collegiate’s graduation ceremony came to an abrupt halt when lightning struck the school’s chimney, forcing the celebration to relocate mid-ceremony.

The London Fire Department confirmed the incident, which occurred during what should have been a milestone moment for graduating students and their families. While Mother Nature clearly had other plans, the good news is that no one was injured in the strike.

The lightning strike left the school building structurally compromised, making it unsafe to continue the ceremony on site. School officials quickly pivoted, moving the entire graduation to Saunders Secondary School to ensure the celebration could continue.

It’s not every day that weather becomes the uninvited guest at your graduation ceremony. The strike happened just hours before the London Fire Department shared the update on social media, indicating the incident was recent and required immediate action.

For the graduates and their families, this will definitely be a graduation story they’ll remember forever – though probably not for the reasons they originally expected. The quick thinking of school officials meant that despite the unexpected interruption, the ceremony was able to resume at the alternate location.

The structural damage to London South Collegiate will need to be assessed before the building can be deemed safe for regular use again. Lightning strikes on buildings can cause various types of damage, from electrical system issues to structural problems, depending on where the strike occurs and the building’s construction.

The relocation to Saunders Secondary School allowed the ceremony to proceed, ensuring that the graduating class still got their moment to walk across the stage and receive their diplomas, even if the venue wasn’t quite what they had originally planned.