Lightning no longer will generate CU Safe alerts or overnight emergency sirens

Students, faculty and staff no longer will receive CU Safe alerts when lightning is approaching the campus.

The emergency warning sirens also will not sound for lightning warnings between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless there are outdoor athletic events or intramural activities going on.

Vice President for Student Affairs Gail DiSabatino made the decision to limit the lightning warnings based on the recommendations of university emergency officials.

Springtime thunderstorms prompt so many lightning warnings that they may cause some people to ignore CU Safe alerts or to cancel the text-messaging part of the service altogether.

When the sirens go off in the middle of the night because lightning is approaching they can wake up sleeping students and city residents who don’t know why the sirens are sounding.

The university contracts with the Skyguard service to warn public safety officials when dangerous weather is approaching. Its original purpose was to warn people on outdoor athletic fields, but it has been expanded to the whole campus.

The sirens still will sound with a tone and voice message during the daylight and evening hours when lightning is detected within six miles of campus.

CU Safe alerts will be issued when there is a tornado warning or another immediate threat to campus. Advisories about disruptions to campus services also will be sent through that system.