Severe Weather
Call 911 for immediate help in case of police, fire or medical emergencies.
What to Do in Severe Weather
Severe weather is defined as any aspect of the weather that can pose a threat to life and property. These threats include hail, hurricanes, lightning, severe thunderstorms, severe winter weather and tornadoes.
If severe weather threatens, you should:
- Follow instructions as provided by your department/university.
- Listen to radio and television for weather updates.
- Check with media for return-to-work status.
Specific Procedures
Hail is a form of precipitation that consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice. It forms on condensation nuclei such as dust, insects or ice crystals when super-cooled water freezes on contact.
A hurricane is a tropical storm system of extreme size and destructive ability. These storms typically strike the United States Gulf Coast and Atlantic seaboard.
An average of 300 people are injured and 80 people are killed each year by lightning in the United States. To protect the campus community, the university has installed a Thor Guard Lightning Prediction System that will sound a warning when atmospheric conditions are favorable for lightning.
Every thunderstorm produces lightning, and severe thunderstorms can produce high winds, hail and/or tornadoes. Heavy rains associated with these storms can also cause flooding.
Winter storms are known as deceptive killers because most deaths are indirectly related to the storm, such as vehicle accidents caused by winter road conditions, improper use of heaters, and exposure/hypothermia.
Tornadoes are considered to be one of nature's most violent storms. With winds that can reach 300 miles per hour and damage paths in excess of one mile, this deadly phenomenon can form in a matter of seconds.