Officials and students are preparing for the state’s severe weather season.
Severe weather season in Oklahoma is typically from March to May, and the state ranks third in the nation for most frequent tornadoes.
Risk Manager Lee Brown said emergencies are communicated through Blue Alerts, and students should be aware of the weather and stay informed.
Brown also said students should come to him or facilities workers if they are concerned about their safety.
“We’re here for y’all,” Brown said. “If you feel in any way unsafe or you don’t feel prepared, communicate with us. We’ll work with you to make sure you know what’s going on.”
Students from out of state should communicate with Oklahoma students to learn how to act in a situation, Brown said. There are shelters across campus. The only campus housing without a designated shelter is Cokesbury Court Apartments.
Students also should be aware of the siren system. It used to sound all the sirens in the county if there was a tornado anywhere in Oklahoma county. Now they are divided by sectors.
“Our sector pretty much goes from I-40 to just north of Penn Square Mall,” Brown said. “If there’s a tornado within that vicinity, the sirens in this area will go off, and that means you need to seek shelter immediately.”
The sirens are tested at noon every Saturday, and it is the same sound as a tornado warning.
There is no way to predict severe weather patterns for this spring, Brown said. Brown has researched predictions from the National Weather Services for the next 90 days. He said he has not seen much indication of potential severity. Tornadoes are environment-based, though, not climate-based, so the presence of a tornado depends on factors like the stability of the air, Brown said.
“The university risk manager is not a climate change denier in any way,” Brown said. “I have a full expectation for there to be changes in weather patterns over the next few years or over the next decade. Whether or not that’s going to manifest itself in 2018, I don’t know.”
Although spring has begun, there still is risk of winter weather.
Brown said students can make their own decisions about what “cold weather” means to them, but recommends layering up for any weather below 45 degrees because of the risk of wind chill.
“The wind could kick it below 32, no problem, especially in Oklahoma where the winds come sweeping down the plains,” Brown said.
He said it’s also important that students let him or facilities workers know if they see something dangerous on campus.
“That’s really what will keep us all safe is if we talk to each other and bring as many minds to the table as possible to really work together about concerns and issues our community has in terms of being weather aware,” Brown said.
Students from out of state have expressed some concerns about weather, but most students feel secure in knowing how to stay safe.
Rebekah Small, religion freshman, is from Texas. She said she expects severe weather, but she’s not too scared.
“One of my roommates is from Oklahoma, so I feel like, if I’m with her, she’ll tell me what to do,” Small said. “I just know the basics.”
Sydney Hagan, design and production sophomore, is also from Texas. She said dealing with the weather in Oklahoma has been an adjustment.
“I’ve definitely learned to check the weather every morning before I get ready because often it’s completely different than it was the day before,” Hagan said.
Hagan said there are some things that would make her feel more secure on campus.
“I feel like making emergency shelters clear and having emergency procedures readily accessible could help ease lots of students who are unaccustomed to severe weather,” Hagan said. “I’ve lived in Methodist all year and actually have no idea where the emergency shelter we’re supposed to go to is.”
A list of safety precautions, procedures and shelter locations, is available at okcu.edu/main/emergency.
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