Tornado Season in Tennessee

Springtime marks the arrival of tornado season in the Midsouth and across the state of Tennessee. University personnel should prepare by taking a moment to review tornado response procedures intended to help protect you from inclement weather on campus and at home. The National Weather Service will issue a Tornado Watch when thunderstorms and tornadoes or possible in and near the watch area. A tornado Warning will be issued when a tornado is imminent. If a Tornado Warning is issued for the Memphis-Shelby County area and has the potential to affect the Health Science Center, a UTHSC Alert Notification will be sent out alerting personnel to seek shelter immediately. You should remain sheltered until a follow up UTHSC Alert Notification is issued indicating the "all clear" has been issued and that normal operations may be resumed.

When on campus or at home, take shelter by moving inside of a building and seeking the lowest floor's innermost, windowless room. Avoid locations where hazardous materials may be present, such as in laboratories or chemical storage rooms. On the Memphis campus, Building Emergency Action Plans identify appropriate shelter-in-place locations. Please take a moment to identify shelter-in-place locations for your work area now. Building Emergency Action Plans are accessible on the Fire Safety webpage: https://uthsc.edu/campus-safety/occupational-safety/fire-safety.php.