Officials Monitoring Forecast for Snow

Updated: Tuesday, January 16 at 5:58 pm

(For future updates during this weather event, Duke community members are encouraged to stay informed by checking the DukeALERT website, as well as the Campus Service Updates web page for additional updates on parking lots, busing routes, dining facilities, and stores.)

Due to the forecast of approximately 4 inches of snow Wednesday morning, the severe weather and emergency conditions policy for Duke University and Duke University Health System will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday. All classes before noon will be canceled. A decision about afternoon classes will be made early Wednesday morning.

All staff in “Essential Service” positions should report to work or remain at work while the policy is in effect. All staff in “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. Departments should implement departmental severe weather plans as appropriate.

All PDC off-site clinics and most Duke University Hospital clinics will be closed all day Wednesday, January 17; however, the following critical ambulatory services will remain open:

Oncology

• All Cancer Center Clinics/locations and supporting operations are open

Duke South

• Clinic 2A: Infusion / Sickle Cell Day Hospital
• Clinic 2D: PAT at Duke South
• Clinic 2H: Endoscopy / bronchoscopy
• Clinic 2J: Manometry lab
• Clinic 2N: Apheresis

Children’s Offsite

• Valvano Day Hospital

DMP – Endo / Bronch

Urgent Patient Access

Duke South Clinic 2B/2C will remain open and will be the designated location for those physicians that need to see urgent patients, regardless of their regular, scheduled location. This will be for adult patients only.  Providers requesting to see patients in 2B/2C must coordinate staffing with their clinic leadership.

Duke Primary Care continuity clinics will be closed Wednesday.

Duke Urgent Care clinic physicians and staff will be contacted by their clinic administration team for instructions about hours of operation as we will work to open selected urgent care sites to provided access for ill patients in need of services.

Current forecasts suggest that snow is likely to start around 4 a.m. Wednesday. Accumulations of 3-4 inches are projected for the Triangle area.

Gates on parking garages will be open Wednesday morning. Essential service staff are encouraged to use the parking garages where possible to allow crews to treat and clear parking lots. 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.

Duke community members are encouraged to stay informed by checking the DukeALERT website, as well as the Campus Service Updates web page for additional updates on parking lots, busing routes, dining facilities, and stores.

Updated: Tuesday, Jan. 16, 4:15 p.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for central North Carolina from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are expected for central North Carolina, including Durham and Wake counties.

A decision about whether to activate the Severe Weather and Emergency Conditions policy will be made by 4 a.m. Wednesday to allow time for staff in essential service positions to make appropriate arrangements to report to or remain at work.  If the policy is activated, the DukeALERT website will provide updates, including real-time information on the status of busing routes, dining facilities, stores, and parking lots on the Campus Services page. 

People traveling on and around campus should only use the priority routes during periods of winter weather. 

Updated: Tuesday, Jan. 16, Noon:

According to the lastest information from the National Weather Service, snow is expected to start in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Jan. 17.  Snow is expected to fall through Wednesday morning with accumulation expected to be closer to 3 inches. Once precipitation ends, crews can begin clearing priority roads, parking lots, and walkways. However, because Duke maintains 2.2 million square feet of high priority areas, the process to clear these areas will take about 4 to 6 hours. People traveling on and around campus should only use the priority routes during periods of winter weather. 

A decision about whether to activate the Severe Weather and Emergency Conditions policy will be made either late Tuesday night or in the early morning hours on Wednesday to allow time for staff in essential service positions to make appropriate arrangements to report to or remain at work.

If the policy is activated, the DukeALERT website will provide updates, including real-time information on the status of busing routes, dining facilities, stores, and parking lots on the Campus Services page.

Original Post: Tuesday, Jan. 16, 8:20 a.m.:

Duke officials are closely monitoring weather forecasts for the Triangle area that currently project 1-3 inches of snow beginning late Tuesday night and into Wednesday.

A winter weather advisory has been issued for Durham and Wake counties from 11 p.m. today until 7 p.m. Wednesday. Crews have already begun treating campus roads, parking lots, walkways and building entrances as a precaution.

Duke community members should 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. Facilities Management will cordon off steps that should not be used due to ice and snow. If a set of stairs is closed, there will be an ADA ramp nearby for use or a cleared sidewalk to the next set of steps that will remain cleared and open throughout the event.

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, staff are encouraged to review Duke's severe weather and emergency conditions policy to understand 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. Transportation service and childcare services may be provided for those required to work during severe weather/emergency conditions. 
• 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 DukeALERT emergency website.