Severe Weather Policy in Effect from 7 p.m. Friday - 7 p.m. Saturday

TO:  Vice Presidents, Vice Provosts, Deans, Directors, Department Heads, and Managers
FROM:  Kyle Cavanaugh, Vice President for Administration, Emergency Coordinator
RE:  Severe Weather Policy in Effect from 7 p.m. Friday - 7 p.m. Saturday

Due to the forecast of snow and sleet overnight, the severe weather and emergency conditions policy for Duke University and Duke University Health System will be in effect from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Saturday. Duke Primary Care clinics will be working to open key urgent care centers as early Saturday as possible to maintain patient access to care. Additional updates will be made on Saturday about extending the policy based on conditions.

Current forecasts suggest that precipitation is likely to start as rain and snow Friday evening and changing to snow and sleet overnight before transitioning to only snow by Saturday morning. Snow is expected to end by late Saturday afternoon with accumulations of 6-9 inches projected for the Triangle area.

All staff in “Essential Service" positions should report to work or remain at work. Gates on parking garages will be open Friday morning for use by staff in “Essential Service” positions when the severe weather policy is in effect. Members of the Duke community should use priority snow/ice clearing routes to travel to and from campus buildings during winter weather since normal routes may not be cleared or treated initially. Due to the miles of roads, walkways and parking lots on campus, it typically requires 4 to 6 hours after precipitation ends to clear a movable snow (no ice/sleet) of 3 inches. Due to expected accumulations, snow will likely take longer to clear. Gates on parking lots and garages will be open during the activation of the severe weather policy to allow for easy entry and exit. Essential service staff are encouraged to use the parking garages where possible to allow crews to treat and clear parking lots.

All employees “Delayed Service” positions should not report to work or remain at work when the policy is in effect to allow for crews to clear parking lots and roads more effectively.

At this time, the Duke Men’s Basketball vs. Boston College game will be played as scheduled at 2 p.m. Duke officials are in close communication with the ACC and Boston College and will publicize any updates as information becomes available as soon as possible on Saturday based on the actual weather conditions. Additional information and updates will be posted on GoDuke.com.  Events related to the undergraduate Winter Forum for Sunday will be made on Saturday based on current and projected conditions.

Ongoing updates about events and campus operations, including roads, parking lots, busing routes, dining facilities and Duke stores, will be posted on the DukeALERT website: http://emergency.duke.edu.

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