NIU 'probably most prepared' university for severe weather

In front of about 100 weather spotters gathered for an on-campus spotter training session Thursday, April 7, NIU Staff Meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste accepted the National Weather Service’s “StormReady” re-certification on behalf of the university during a brief ceremony.

The certification lasts for three years, and is valid through May 2008. The National Weather Service designates communities, counties, schools and businesses “StormReady” when they meet a high level of weather preparedness.

Among the stringent requirements for large schools: a 24-hour emergency operations center, which is located at the NIU Public Safety/Police department, and at least five ways of receiving emergency and current weather information, with four methods to disseminate it in real time.

Currently, NIU Weather distributes severe weather bulletins affecting the DeKalb campus via the NIU Weather Web site, http://weather.niu.edu; via e-mail, pagers, cell phones, and through 168 NOAA All-Hazards radios placed strategically throughout the campus.

“I'm very honored to receive this award, but it is ultimately up to the university community to make it a success. Thanks to cooperation with many departments across the campus, it is great and getting better all the time,” Sebenste said.

“Most areas of the campus receive a tornado warning for DeKalb seconds after issuance. Then, the warning is broadly distributed to the residence halls, Founders Library, Holmes Student Center and other high-traffic areas,” he added. “In small administrative departments, each weather radio and e-mail lets them know just as quickly that the storm is coming. No other university in the country does this.”

Jim Allsopp, warning coordination meteorologist at the local National Weather Service office in Romeoville, agrees.

“NIU is probably the most prepared of any university in the country to deal with severe weather,” Allsopp said.

In addition to alerting the campus of severe weather, the All-Hazards radios, e-mails and NIU Weather Web site also will alert readers of man-made disasters, including terrorist attacks.

“I admit, part of my job includes dreaming up some terrifying ‘what if’ scenarios,” Sebenste said. “Unintentionally, the severe weather alerting system also works well for relaying evacuation information due to man-made disasters. If a hazardous material spill or other hazard required evacuation of the university, this system now integrates with the Department of Homeland Security and the State of Illinois to send these alerts through in near-real time.”

In addition to receiving and sending information locally, NIU Weather also has a weather station that sends out data in real-time to the university, the general public and, when needed, federal, state and local governments during severe weather and disasters. For that effort, NIU Weather and the university were recognized by the Department of Homeland Security in 2003.

Sebenste said there is still more to be done.

“We’re going to add more NOAA All-Hazards radios in the future, and increase our product quality to better serve the university. NIU was the prototype ‘Storm Ready’ school, and currently one of only nine universities in the country to achieve this milestone,” he said. “We will continue to lead the way in providing the highest quality warning system possible for our staff, students and guests.”

NIU Weather is a division of the Environmental Health and Safety department and the Physical Plant, both of which support the NIU “StormReady” program.

4-11-05