The University of Kentucky informed the campus community of the possibility of altered class days and how to prepare for cold temperatures as a result of winter storm “Heather” through a series of emails.
The university has worked with emergency management officials, faculty and staff on the inclement weather policies in place, according to UK’s severe weather procedures website.
“Ensuring the health, safety and well-being of our community requires all of us to follow procedures and protocols and take responsible steps and precautions when alerts are issued,” the website said.
According to The Weather Channel, temperatures are expected to drop as low as six degrees early this week with the possibility of snow and ice.
In the event of severe winter weather, President Eli Capilouto and Eric Monday, executive vice president for finance and administration, will make the final call to delay or cancel in-person classes after “reviewing road conditions, weather reports, local transit service and area business and industry response,” UK’s severe weather procedures website said.
On Feb. 15, 2021, UK closed its campus due to inclement weather, according to UKNOW. All in-person classes beginning after the time of closing were canceled, but online classes continued as normal unless notified otherwise by the instructor.
In an email to the campus community on Saturday, Jan. 13, Monday said there are rare occasions when the normal campus schedule is altered or a portion of campus is closed.
“As our goal is to always keep campus fully operational to sustain our critical missions of education, research, service and patient care, UK classes and work schedules are rarely altered by the impacts of severe weather,” the email said.
UK HealthCare is not included in the closing of campus to “ensure the safety” of the UK community.
Monday’s email included resources to help students stay safe during winter weather. The resources include tips on how to navigate campus safely and UK Alert, the university’s emergency notification system.
He reminded students to update their UK Alert accounts to ensure they receive notice of closings, delays, early dismissals and other major emergencies that may occur on campus. UK Alert can be updated by logging into myUK and clicking on the UK Alert tab.
UK Housing also offered tips to students in an email on how to stay safe and warm in the event of severe winter weather as temperatures drop below freezing.
“Keep thermostats set to HEAT and at least 65 degrees to keep pipes from freezing, fully close ALL windows, please adjust the temperature in your unit using the thermostat (and not outside air) only, watch out for hidden patches of ice outdoors,” the email said.
UK Housing reminded students to contact FIX-IT immediately if they experience a cold-related maintenance emergency or call the UK Housing main office at (859) 257-1866, Option 4.If you experience any winter weather-related issues, you can find who to contact on the UKPD emergency response guide.
