All five campuses earn StormReady designation

Flash floods, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and snow are a few extreme weather conditions known to occur in north Georgia. And the University of North Georgia (UNG) alerts students, faculty and staff on all five campuses to those conditions in a timely fashion.

"We have multiple ways to alert the UNG community to every weather warning," Kathryn Smith, interim associate director of emergency preparedness within UNG Public Safety, said. "We encourage students, faculty, and staff to sign up for UNG Alerts through their banner account." 

For those efforts and more, UNG has earned StormReady recognition from the National Weather Service (NWS) for the second consecutive renewal term. The university is one of 290 higher education institutions in the nation and one of 16 in Georgia designated as a StormReady University.

"Being StormReady demonstrates the extra procedures we have put into place to be prepared for extreme weather conditions," Smith said. "We want to ensure that our students, faculty and staff, many who reside and commute to campus, are prepared for any weather emergencies."

David J. Nadler, warning coordination meteorologist for NWS, praised UNG’s efforts to maintain StormReady status.

"It is clearly the result of your vision, leadership, hard work, and commitment to the students and faculty of UNG," Nadler said in a letter to UNG. "They should take great pride and comfort in maintaining this status."

To achieve the StormReady designation, a university or community must meet the following requirements:

• Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center.
• Have multiple avenues to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and alert the public.
• Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

Smith said UNG has met and exceeded each requirement. UNG's Public Safety dispatch center acts as the 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center. The university's LiveSafe app alerts students, faculty and staff to weather emergencies such as a tornado warning, which is when a tornado has been reported or spotted. The free LiveSafe app connects UNG students, faculty, and staff to the university's resources. 

"We will send out emails, phone, text, LiveSafe, and desktop alerts for a tornado warning," Smith said. "When we have a tornado watch, we alert students, faculty, and staff via email."  She explained a tornado watch is when meteorological conditions are favorable for producing tornadoes.

"Every campus also has a direct line of communication to the county's emergency manager to expedite any extreme weather warnings," Smith said.

These definitive steps are part of the actions the emergency preparedness division takes to keep all UNG students, faculty and staff safe. Other steps include training the university community in first aid, CPR and other safety procedures.

"As of fall 2021, we have placed emergency action guides with every automated external defibrillator (AED) in all UNG facilities," Smith said. "Sgt. Adan Diaz and Officer Sheri Chapman were instrumental in accomplishing that."

To learn more, visit the UNG Emergency Preparedness website.