NIU Weather launches on cable Channel 26

NIU Weather has launched a new cable TV channel to alert faculty, staff and students of incoming bad weather and emergency conditions.

Viewers on campus can tune into NIU Weather Channel 26 on cable television for current conditions, forecasts, satellite imagery, radar and severe weather bulletins in real-time for DeKalb County and areas east of the campus. The channel also temporarily simulcasts a local feed of NBC Weather Plus.

NIU Weather is a division of the NIU Physical Plant and Department of Environmental Health and Safety. The university purchased equipment that enabled the cable TV launch so students would have yet another venue for updated weather information.

“It's on the air so we can get warnings and alerts to viewers, but the channel is still in beta mode, meaning it's a work in progress,” staff meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste said.

“I'm very grateful to my colleagues for getting this equipment in so quickly,” Sebenste added. “This was planned to arrive in time for the snowstorms and cold weather of the winter. But things were rushed through fast enough to get a working version of the channel operational by the time students moved in for the start of the semester.”

Channel 26 already has enough equipment functioning to broadcast life-saving and critical weather information immediately to the on-campus community. Programming will be enhanced when a new computer system arrives this fall.

“The content will become all locally driven and produced,” Sebenste said. “The video portion will show real-time graphics, local high-resolution satellite and radar, and live data from our weather station, which updates every two seconds.

“During bad-weather conditions, it will switch to an abbreviated broadcast showing the weather bulletins and live radar as appropriate,” Sebenste added. “By this winter, it will display school closing and any emergency information that everyone needs to know about. In short, when bad weather or the need for a school closure develops, this will be a place for students to go to 24 hours a day.”

The weather service also can be seen live on the Internet at http://weather2.admin.niu.edu/weatherdisplay/ .

Funding for the project came from the NIU Physical Plant, the Department of Environmental Health and Safety and the Heating Plant, working in cooperation with the Division of Media Services and the Office of Student Housing and Dining.

“NIU Weather thanks these departments,” Sebenste said, “for continuing to support severe weather and safety initiatives.”

8-29-05