Editor's note: This message was emailed March 25 to Iowa State students and employees.
Dear Iowa State Community,
A statewide tornado drill will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 27, as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa.
As part of the drill, we encourage the campus community to take time this week to review the emergency procedures for tornadoes as well as the severe weather shelter areas for campus buildings. This also is an opportunity for campus units to discuss or develop a team plan for severe weather.
Emergency procedures
Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are often unpredictable and can develop quickly, which is why preparation is important. Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) has a weather webpage with tips to prepare for severe weather and information about conditions we see during the spring and summer:
- Severe thunderstorms: These are dangerous storms that can include lightning, hail, powerful winds, flash flooding or tornadoes.
- Tornadoes: A tornado is a violently rotating column of air, shaped like a funnel that extends from a thunderstorm and contacts the ground. Tornadoes can produce winds exceeding 200 miles per hour.
- Flash floods: Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States. Melting snow, heavy rain and overflows of dams or other water systems can quickly flood low-lying areas.
- Weather warnings: Timely and reliable emergency alerts are critical to your emergency response plan.
Weather alerts, notifications
Outdoor warning sirens on campus will sound for tornado warnings and when winds exceed 80 miles per hour. The sirens are intended to alert those outdoors to take shelter. We recommend having another method to receive weather-related notifications.
The National Weather Service will send text messages through the Wireless Emergency Alert system to WEA-capable phones during an emergency. The alerts are for extreme weather conditions including: tornados, severe thunderstorms (when damage threat is destructive), flash flooding, etc.
You also can take advantage of the services provided by several local media outlets. This will allow you to customize notifications to your location. The National Weather Service (Des Moines/central Iowa) is another reliable source of information when severe weather is forecasted.
Closings for severe weather
While rare, there are occasions when the university will cancel classes or close due to weather conditions. University policy provides guidance and outlines expectations for employees related to cancellations and closings. If you are unfamiliar with the policy, we encourage you to review it in Iowa State's policy library.
Weather announcements
The university will share information about cancellations and closings through a message sent to all Iowa State email addresses and on the ISU Alert website and social media accounts @IowaStateU (Twitter and Facebook) and @IowaStateUNews (Twitter).
We encourage you to follow Iowa State University Police (@ISUPD) and Environmental Health and Safety (@IowaStateUEHS) on social media for weather-related information. Both departments work closely with the National Weather Service to provide updates for campus.
Thank you for doing your part to be prepared for severe weather.
Sincerely,
Michael Newton, associate vice president of public safety and chief of police
Paul Richmond, assistant vice president of environmental health and safety
