Columns:: When the weather outside gets frightful: Plan for inclement winter conditions announced

since 12/15/98

Columns::November 18, 2002

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Campus News

When the weather outside gets frightful
Plan for inclement winter conditions announced

By Tom Jackson
tjackson@uga.edu

The university’s Public Affairs Office has reiterated the policy for dealing with closings caused by winter weather. Because weather-related closings are done in the interest of public safety, the university is either open or closed for everyone--faculty, staff and students. Such decisions are not based on weather forecasts, but rather on developing conditions which may lead to icing on roadways.
By policy, the university makes one of three announcements:
• UGA is open and operating on a regular schedule;
• UGA is closed; or
• UGA will delay opening until a specific time.
Although media sometimes ad lib that “UGA has cancelled classes,” winter weather closing announcements apply to all faculty, staff and students except those personnel previously designated by their supervisor to report in case of inclement weather, such as in public safety, physical plant, housing and food services.
Up-to-date information is delivered to the following Athens radio stations:
• AM: 960 and 1340.
• FM: 88.9, 90.5, 91.7, 97.9, 102.1, 103.7 and 106.1.
Information also is posted on university cable channel 15, which also is carried on Clarke/Oconee cable channel 15. Detailed information will be available on the UGA Today Web site (www.uga.edu/news) and the announcement may also appear on the UGA home page (www.uga.edu). An all-campus e-mail message is sent although, because of the number that must be sent, delivery may not be immediate.
Winter weather in this area generally develops overnight, and every attempt is made to notify media by 6:30 a.m. Athens radio stations are used primarily because they can give priority to UGA announcements, as Atlanta stations cannot. Atlanta radio and TV stations which have requested UGA closing announcements are also notified. If the weather develops during the work-school day, the office of each vice president and dean also is notified.
Employees are encouraged to use broadcast and Internet media to determine whether to come to work rather than phoning the UGA police, other campus offices or the news media. During developing snow events, the university has in the past sometimes experienced a slowing of the telephone system because of volume. The phone lines should be left open for priority messages.
Sometimes weather conditions are such that closings occur two or more days in a row. In such cases, this procedure is followed each day, with an announcement being made each morning by 6:30 a.m.

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