UTD is a StormReady University

January 20, 2022

From Left: Assistant Vice President for Environmental Health and Safety, James O. Wright; NWS Warning and Coordination Meteorologist, Mark Fox; Vice President of Administration, Calvin Jamison; Director of Emergency Management, Mariah Armitage; Police Chief Larry Zacharias; and Emergency Management Specialist, Angela Dees.

The University of Texas at Dallas recently re-certified as a National Weather Service StormReady University. StormReady, a program started in 1999 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is designed to arm communities with the communication and safety skills needed to save lives and property in the event of a natural disaster. The StormReady program measures preparedness in several categories, all of which UT Dallas surpassed to receive the designation.

To achieve StormReady status, a university must:

  • Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center.
  • Have multiple means of receiving severe weather warnings and forecasts to alert the public.
  • Create a system that monitors weather conditions locally.
  • Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars.
  • Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe-weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

UT Dallas was the first UT System school to receive the designation. Recertification is required every three years.

StormReady communities like The University of Texas at Dallas are better prepared to save lives from the onslaught of severe weather through advanced planning, education and awareness. No community is storm proof, but StormReady can help communities save lives.