Arkansas State University is the first university in the state to become a “Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador.” The designation comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Arkansas State University’s safety officer Jon Carvell.
“This is a commitment that we made with the National Weather Service to forward their warnings and alerts so that way we can share the alerts and information that they put out to the public.”
He tells how the process started.
“We started to explore the possibility of becoming a weather-ready university. This is much more involved, such as the requirements. We will host some weather-spotter meetings, and there are other processes that must take place as well.”
Carvell tells why this is important.
“We can talk to them when we have large outdoor events going on. We can talk to them when we do have some significant winter weather on the way. We will need to make our plans to respond and we can have direct dialogue with them, instead of just relying on a weather forecast.”
He says this designation is important, especially after the campus received significant damage after straight line winds from a severe thunderstorm pounded the campus last June. He says when warnings take place, they will be communicated to faculty, staff, and students through e-mail blasts, social media, and other forms of communication.
