Adverse Weather: Orange County under tornado watch

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

The National Weather Services has issued a TORNADO WATCH IN ORANGE COUNTY.

That means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. The weather service says people in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings.

Remain alert for approaching storms.

The weather service updates this information regularly, so be sure to check the National Weather Service website listing the current status of watches, warnings or advisories for Orange County at http://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwaatmget.php?x=NCC135.

The University will not send additional text, email or other notifications to the campus community about a tornado watch since the status of those often change frequently during a weather event. If a new weather pattern enters the area that prompts a fresh watch after a 24-hour period, the University plans to reissue the watch notice as part of ongoing monitoring efforts for potential serious weather conditions.

If the weather service issues a tornado warning for Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the University will activate the emergency sirens. A tornado warning means that a tornado has been spotted, or that radar indicates a thunderstorm circulation that can spawn a tornado, according to the National Weather Service. The University will activate the sirens for a significant emergency or immediate health or safety threat, send a text message to registered cell phones and start other notifications including campus email.

For more information refer to http://www.alertcarolina.unc.edu/go/doc/1395/1075683/About-Tornado-Warnings-and-Watches

ABOUT THIS EMAIL: Campus-wide email is not an instant source of information as part of the University’s timely warning notification process. Text messages sent to registered cell phone users are the fastest way for the University to notify you. That’s why email messages like this one will always include a timestamp to indicate when the message was sent. The University’s Emergency Notification System is activated using a strategy that is based on redundancy, using multiple methods to communicate. The best, most up-to-date source of information will always be the Alert Carolina website, https://alertcarolina.unc.edu//.