Snow Expected Early Thursday Morning
Winter Weather Advisory in effect until 8 a.m. Thursday
[Updated Jan. 28, 5:30 a.m.]
Duke will operate on a normal schedule today.
Snow is expected taper down from west to east this morning, ending before daybreak in the west and by mid-morning elsewhere.
Total accumulations in the Triangle are expected to be around 1-2 inches on grassy surfaces. Roads, which remained above freezing due to warmer temperatures yesterday, remain in good shape. Slushy spots may exist primarily on elevated surfaces.
The forecast indicates it will be mostly sunny beginning late morning and the snow is expected to melt very quickly.
Crews on site now addressing areas of concerns around walkways, parking lots and building entrances.
As a precaution, parking garage roofs will remain closed today until there is significant melt. Bus routes are planning to run a normal schedule today, but passengers are encouraged to monitor Duke TransLoc for real-time information about bus locations and travel.
[Update: Jan. 27, 2021, 3:45 p.m.]
The latest forecasts indicate that the Triangle area could see between 1-3 inches of snow accumulation overnight.
At this time, Duke officials do not expect to activate the Severe Weather and Emergency Conditions policy, and all operations should continue on a normal schedule.
Precipitation will begin tonight as rain, so pretreatment of roads will not be effective. Rain should transition to snow around midnight and is expected to continue until about 6 a.m. Thursday. Crews will be on campus early to salt walkways, building entrances, and elevated surfaces as needed.
Special attention will be given to COVID-19 testing sites, surveillance testing locations and vaccination clinics, which are all expected to operate on a normal schedule.
Road temperatures should remain above freezing, which will help reduce the likelihood of icy conditions. But members of the Duke community should allow extra time for travel and use caution when moving around campus. Individuals should also review the priority clearing map to determine the preferred paths of travel during severe weather, which may differ from their normal routines.
Buses are expected to operate on a normal schedule, but passengers should refer to Duke TransLoc for real-time updates regarding potential delays and advisories. As a precaution, parking garage roofs will be close to incoming traffic at 5 p.m. today.
Follow Working@Duke on Twitter for real-time updates as conditions warrant.
[Original Post]
Duke officials are closely monitoring weather forecasts for central North Carolina that currently project snow from about midnight until early Thursday morning.
The National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory until 8 a.m. Thursday. Precipitation is expected to begin as rain on Wednesday before transitioning to snow overnight. Projections for most of the Triangle include snowfall amounts of a trace to an inch with localized higher amounts possible along and north of I-85.
Faculty, staff and students should review the priority clearing map to determine the preferred paths of travel during severe weather, which may differ from their normal routines. Members of the Duke community should allow extra time and use extreme caution when traveling to and around campus Thursday morning in case there are slippery conditions.
If Duke activates the Severe Weather and Emergency Conditions policy, officials will send notification via the DukeALERT system, including text message, email, the DukeALERT website and the web alert bar. A message also will be recorded on the severe weather/emergency conditions telephone line at 684-INFO (4636). Faculty and staff who are not already registered should sign up for text message updates from the DukeALERT system.
Given the possibility of severe weather, staff members should review Duke's severe weather and emergency conditions policy regarding what they should do if the policy is activated.
During times of severe weather, some staff positions require on-site presence to continue operations. All jobs should be assigned a service category by the manager to ensure continuous operations of patient care, student support and research functions. Managers should ensure staff members are aware of the service category for their position and how they will be notified if the severe weather policy is activated. The three categories are:
- Essential Service: during severe weather/emergency conditions, essential service staff report or remain at work.
- Reserve Service: during severe weather/emergency conditions, reserve service staff are assigned a status at the time of severe weather/emergency condition.
- Delayed Service: during severe weather/emergency conditions, delayed service staff do not report to work or remain at work.
More information about the policy, including a map of priorities for clearing roads, lots and sidewalks, checklists and answers to frequently asked questions, is available at the DukeALERT emergency website.