Due to the threat of severe weather, all university offices will close at 3 p.m. on Monday, August 7. Activities scheduled at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences will end at 3:30 p.m. Students scheduled for evening classes should check with their instructors for online options. Essential services for residential students will continue. Essential on-site staff should remain at their work locations.
The National Weather Service is forecasting severe weather for the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia areas from 4 – 8 p.m. today. NWS is predicting a high likelihood of heavy rain with widespread, hurricane-force damaging winds up to 74 mph, potential of an isolated significant tornado, and large hail. Possible impacts from this storm could include widespread tree and powerline damage and power outages. You should stay indoors and avoid travel during this time.
We encourage you to take the following precautionary and preparedness actions:
- Before venturing out, check the forecast from a reliable source such as weather.gov. Driving could become dangerous due to downed trees, high wind, and heavy rain.
- Have a method to receive weather alerts and warnings.
- When you hear thunder, seek shelter indoors in a sturdy building or structure.
- While sheltering indoors, go to an interior room on the lowest floor of the building and stay away from windows and doors.
- Prepare for power outages by gathering flash lights and spare batteries.
- Stay away from downed power lines.
- Never drive through standing water or flooded roadways. You risk your life and the lives of first responders. “Turn Around Don’t Drown” saves lives.
We will provide updates to the GW community as needed and will continue to update Campus Advisories. In addition to Campus Advisories, GW community members can find emergency preparedness resources at safety.gwu.edu. From the Ready GW webpage, GW community members can manage their GW Alert account to receive GW text alerts to their mobile devices. For those who use mobile apps, the Ready GW webpage provides a link to download the GW Guardian App, which provides GW emergency alerts directly to the app and features several other safety functions.