Icy Conditions Expected Across Central N.C. on Thursday

Duke officials are closely monitoring weather forecasts for central North Carolina that currently project an accumulation of sleet and freezing rain on Thursday. 

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Durham and Orange counties until 7 a.m. Friday and a winter weather advisory for Wake County. Ice accumulations of a quarter to a half inch are expected along and north of I-85 with ice accumulations ranging from a light glaze to a quarter of an inch in Wake and other counties just south of the interstate.

Accumulation will likely to be heavier at the start of the event and become somewhat lighter Thursday late morning, then re-intensify Thursday afternoon and evening before changing to rain Friday morning.

Power outages and hazardous road conditions will be possible through this warning period, especially across the Triad and north near the Virginia border. Trees that were weakened by last week’s storm may come down with this storm.

Crews will be on-site assessing conditions and clearing or treating any problem areas on campus. In the event of any downed trees or power lines, contact Duke Police at 919-684-2444. Any power outages on campus should be reported to Facilities Management at 919-684-2122.

Please remind your faculty and staff to 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 use extreme caution when traveling to and around campus in case there are icy spots.

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, please review Duke's severe weather and emergency conditions policy and share information with your staff 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 Duke Emergency Management website.

Thank you for your assistance in communicating with staff to help Duke maintain essential services and operations in the event of severe weather.