Winter storm forecast for tonight

Winter storm forecast for tonight

Credit: Annemarie Mountz Office of Physical Plant Landscape employee Tom Waltz worked to clear the walkway between the HUB Parking Deck and the HUB-Robeson Center of ice and slush. Waltz and his coworkers will be busy again Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for several counties across Pennsylvania from this evening (Dec. 8) through early Wednesday. The storm that currently is over the southern plains will move northeast, crossing the Great Lakes region to bring a wintry mix of precipitation to the region. According to the advisory, significant snow and ice accumulation are possible tonight through early Wednesday. Forecasts are calling for between 2 and 4 inches of snow to accumulate before the changeover, with the potential for a significant coating of ice accumulating on top of the snow before the precipitation changes to rain later Wednesday morning.

Penn State officials are tracking the storm and preparing crews to respond. No determination has been made at this time regarding the potential delay or cancellation of classes; that decision will be made very early Wednesday morning, based upon current conditions and the ability of work crews to clear snow and ice from campus roads, sidewalks and parking lots.

Any decision to delay or cancel classes will be announced through several outlets, including PSUTXT, Penn State Live, WPSU-TV, WPSU-FM, Penn State Facebook, and PSUTXT on Twitter. Anyone not already signed up to receive PSUTXT alerts can subscribe by going to http://live.psu.edu/psutxt online.

Operating status at Penn State Altoona and Penn State DuBois also will be aired on WPSU, which broadcasts in those regions. All other campus locations should identify their preferred method of communication before inclement weather strikes.

WPSU, which airs 24-hour programming, can be heard at 91.5 FM in State College, Bellefonte, Lock Haven and surrounding areas, and 90.1 FM in northern Pennsylvania counties. The station also is at http://wpsu.org/ online; a complete list of station frequencies can be found at http://wpsu.org/about/coverage.html on the Web. Closings are listed at http://wpsu.org/site/closings online. When notified, WPSU will begin its live broadcasting earlier than the usual start time of 5 a.m., and will interrupt regularly scheduled programming to give periodic updates throughout the day or night.

In addition to WPSU, information also will be promptly and prominently issued online at Penn State Live at http://live.psu.edu and on Penn State Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pennstate online, assuming that power and Internet connectivity are not adversely affected by the weather.

If a delay is announced at University Park, employees who perform nonessential services are to report at the announced time. Classes and activities that begin before the announced time are canceled. Those classes or activities beginning at or after the announced delay time will be held as originally scheduled. For example, a two-hour delay until 10 a.m. due to snow or ice would mean that all classes that begin before 10 a.m. are canceled and will not be held. Classes beginning at 10 a.m. or after, will continue on their regular schedule.

Employees in essential services and operations are expected to report for work in most circumstances, and should contact their supervisor -- before severe winter weather strikes -- with any questions they may have about their status.

For additional information about weather delays at University Park, visit http://live.psu.edu/story/36230 online.

All employees are encouraged to take responsibility for their own safety. In addition, people who are concerned about commuting to or from campus because of severe weather can take advantage of discounted hotel rooms at The Nittany Lion Inn and The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. Call the hotels to check availability and whether or not the discount is available whenever severe weather and dangerous driving conditions exist or are anticipated.

"Faculty and staff should use their own best judgment when considering traveling to campus or the need to leave work early during times of inclement weather," said Albert G. Horvath, senior vice president for finance and business. "Staff may charge their absence to vacation time when weather conditions cause a concern for personal safety. As usual, supervisors should make every effort to accommodate employees who wish to leave work early because of the weather."

Faculty and staff also should review "Handling Weather Day Absences" (Human Resources Guideline 10) on the Web at http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hrg10.html for specific information on how time missed for weather situations is handled.