SUNY Cortland's Ability to Handle Winter Storms Earns National Certification

12/21/2017 

Whether it’s rain, sleet or snow — or anything else Mother Nature has in store — SUNY Cortland is ready.

The College, through the University Police Department, was recently awarded StormReady certification by the National Weather Service and the New York State StormReady Advisory Board.

StormReady helps communities, counties, Indian nations, colleges, military bases, government sites and commercial enterprises prepare for hazardous weather conditions. The program improves the communication and safety skills needed to save lives and property during disasters. Emergency managers are provided with clear guidelines on how to handle severe weather.

“This is an important accomplishment for SUNY Cortland,” said David Nicosia, warning coordination meteorologist for NOAA’s National Weather Service in Binghamton, N.Y. “The Cortland area has a long history of severe weather, snowstorms, floods and even a few tornadoes. SUNY Cortland has taken all the necessary steps to be prepared for whatever Mother Nature has in store. These efforts will no doubt make the College safer and even save lives in the future.”

To qualify for StormReady status, organizations must establish a 24-hour emergency operation center. They must have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and alert the public. The StormReady recipient must also promote public readiness through community seminars and develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training spotters and holding emergency exercises.

“The College’s emergency response team and the university police are very pleased to be recognized by the National Weather Service’s StormReady program,” said University Police Department Chief Mark DePaull. “The program will strengthen our local weather safety plan and our hazardous weather response operations.”

SUNY Cortland is one of 2,682 StormReady or TsunamiReady sites across the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Pacific island territories. 

The campus emergency notification system will inform the SUNY Cortland community of any severe weather activity via New York Alert.