Officials Monitoring Forecast for Snow Late Thursday

[Update: Thursday, February 20, 2020: 7:40 p.m.]

The severe weather and emergency conditions policy for Duke University and Duke University Health System will be in effect Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Classes that begin before 10 a.m. will be canceled. Essential staff should report to work or remain at work while the policy is in effect.

Duke Health has posted changes in operating hours to many clinics and other facilities. Visit the Duke Health website for details.

All future updates will be posted to the DukeALERT website.

[Update: Thursday, February 20, 2020: 4:50 p.m.]

Duke will maintain normal operations through Thursday evening. A decision regarding the activation of Duke’s Severe Weather and Emergency Conditions policy will be made later this evening; however, Duke Health needed to make decisions regarding changes in operational hours for many clinics and other locations to allow time for rescheduling appointments as needed. Please refer to the Duke Health website for details regarding the status of clinics and other facilities.

The early voting site on Duke's campus will have abbreviated hours of operation due to severe weather. Voting on Thursday, Feb. 20 ended at 3:30 p.m. Voting on Friday, Feb. 21 will begin a 1 p.m. and close at the regularly scheduled time of 7:30 p.m., and voting on Saturday, Feb. 22 will be extended until 7:30 p.m.

[Update: Thursday, February 20, 2020: 2:15 p.m.]

The latest forecasts indicate that rain will begin in the Triangle area this afternoon. Temperatures should begin to fall by mid-afternoon. Rain may be mixed with sleet before transitioning to snow this evening.

Snow should end in the early morning hours, and overnight temperatures will continue to drop into the mid 20s, which could lead to some patchy ice on roads and walkways, especially elevated surfaces.

Crews will rope off most external stairs and steep inclines for safety, and members of the Duke community are encouraged to use the priority paths and entrances during severe weather, which may differ from normal routes of travel.

Crews will be on-site in the early morning hours Friday to address any problem areas as needed.

The Duke Women’s Basketball game against the University of Virginia will be held as scheduled at 7 p.m. Thursday in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

[Update: Thursday, February 20, 2020: 6:30 a.m.]

A winter storm advisory has been issued for central North Carolina until 7 a.m. Friday. Forecasts suggest that the Triangle should see rain in the morning with a transition to snow later in the afternoon.

Ground temperatures continue to remain above the freezing, so roads will be wet, but are not expected to be icy through the evening hours.

Snow is projected to continue through Thursday evening and end early Friday morning.  Temperatures will drop below freezing after midnight, which could lead to icy patches on roads and walkways early Friday.

The heaviest snow is expected along and north of the Highway 64 corridor mainly from the Triangle region eastward, where 2-4 inches of snow is expected. Localized higher amounts are possible.

Crews will be treating walkways and elevated surface during the day and will be on-site to address trouble spots early Friday morning.

At this time, Duke officials do not plan to activate the Severe Weather and Emergency Conditions policy for Thursday. A decision regarding Friday morning will be made later this evening or early Friday.

[Update: Wednesday, February 19, 2020: 2:45 p.m.]

The latest forecasts suggest that rain in the Triangle area could change to a mix and then snow by early afternoon Thursday. Projected accumulations in central North Carolina are expected to be 2-3 inches, with localized higher amounts possible.

Temperatures are expected to fall below freezing Thursday night and remain below freezing through mid-morning Friday. Crews will pretreat elevated surfaces and be prepared to treat entrances and walkways as needed.

Members of the Duke community should use caution when traveling to and around campus in the event of icy spots. Faculty, staff and students should review the priority clearly map to determine the preferred paths of travel during severe weather, which may differ from their normal routines.

[Original Post: Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020: 9:45 a.m.]

Duke officials are closely monitoring weather forecasts for central North Carolina that currently project snow beginning Thursday afternoon and evening.

Precipitation is expected to begin as mostly rain Thursday morning across much of North Carolina before mixing with and transitioning to snow later in the afternoon and evening. Projections for most of the Triangle include snowfall amounts of a trace to 2 inches with localized higher amounts will be possible, especially along and north of I-85.

Impact on the Triangle is expected to be minimal at this time, and Duke is not currently expecting to activate the severe weather policy.

Crews will be pretreating elevated surfaces as a precaution and assessing areas that may need attention early Friday. Faculty, staff and students should review the priority clearly 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, staff members should review Duke's severe weather and emergency conditions policy 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. 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.