National Weather Service declares
NIU 'StormReady' during severe weather

NIU becomes nation's first university to earn distinction

by Mark McGowan

NIU is prepared for Mother Nature's fury.

The National Weather Service's Chicago-area StormReady advisory board has certified the university as StormReady, a program that recognizes communities or counties with outstanding, established plans for severe weather preparedness. NIU is the nation's first university to earn the distinction.

A ceremony is planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9. Call 753-5492 for details.

"When we have severe weather," NIU Meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste said, "within minutes, we are able to react and quickly get all employees, faculty, staff and students to a safe location."

Sebenste's initial work includes placing a computerized weather display in the Holmes Student Center to alert and inform students, faculty and staff during bad weather. He also has installed weather radios in offices across campus, offers several public classes each year to teach weather-spotters and has installed software that monitors local weather conditions and updates every two seconds.

Requirements of StormReady include:

• Several methods of disseminating severe weather information. Sebenste uses Weather Bug software in his lab high atop Davis Hall, and can install the program on any campus computer so the user will receive the same bulletins. His Web site - http://weather.admin.niu.edu - will flip to a red alert mode and offer a live radar picture for weather conditions ranging from dense fog, high wind or heat advisory to thunderstorm, flood or tornado.
• A 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center. NIU's Department of Public Safety is prepared for this role. Every campus police officer must take weather-spotter training each year. Sebenste also has developed formal hazardous weather plans, which include the training of spotters and conducting emergency exercises.
• Educational outreach programs for the community. Sebenste offers five classes each year to train members of the public in weather-spotting.
• Weather radios in public buildings. Sebenste has installed more than 150 weather radios in buildings and offices across NIU's campus. He also has made sure every building accessible by the public has signs pointing to safety during tornadoes, and has listed those locations on his Web site.

"Our next goal," he said, "is to encourage other schools, kindergarten through university, to realize the importance of making sure students and staff are safe when bad weather strikes by being a model school and sharing information."

10/07/02