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Severe weather drills prepare students and staff for weather-related emergencies as well as increase awareness, reduce panic, and improve emergency response times. Being prepared before inclement weather strikes includes having a robust plan for a quick, coordinated response.
Your severe weather plan should outline the courses of action your school community will take to prepare for, respond to, and recover from weather-related incidents. Taking steps to ensure clear communication—both in relaying information to your school’s students, staff, and community as well as receiving accurate weather information—is critical.
The following best practices will help you develop a severe weather plan that is built specifically for your schools, students and staff as well as the community that may use schools for emergency shelters.
1. Establish designated safe areas
Work with architects or engineers who are familiar with the campus and the local fire department or county emergency managers to determine the best safety zones for the weather hazards common to your area. Mark them on your school floor plan and signage throughout the campus.
Students and staff should be familiar with these zones and how to access them at different times of the day, including if they are in between class periods, at lunch in the cafeteria, or outside on the football field.
Including the safety zones in your Emergency Management System through Collaborative Response Graphics (CRGs) maps prepares first responders for more effective command and control when responding to unfamiliar locations. The technology goes well beyond an interactive floor plan by putting the identical mapping solution in standard use by public safety organizations across the country in the hands of first responders and school personnel simultaneously.
2. Well-defined roles and responsibilities
Eliminate confusion by making sure everyone knows what their role is during an emergency. It’s best practice to designate a responsible staff member or group of individuals as your Severe Weather Coordinator(s).
Your coordinator(s) should attend local weather training, such as the free NWS Spotter Training, and be responsible for creating your plan and determining when to activate your response.
They should tailor the plan to your specific school and consider every worst-case scenario. Best practice is to also collaborate with your county’s emergency management director and seek guidance from your state’s department of education and agencies like the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Red Cross.
3. Practice emergency procedures
Your severe weather plan is only valuable if the procedures are routinely practiced. Drills familiarize your school and community with your plan as well as individuals with their responsibilities, roles, and actions. This helps everyone feel prepared so they can confidently respond and keep everyone safe in an actual severe weather situation.
Considerations for more effective drills:
- When you’re scheduling drills, think about the location, duration, time, and frequency.
- Let stakeholders—including guardians—know about drills well in advance so no one is caught off guard.
- Every drill should strictly follow your weather plan and EOP, and your staff should use the same technology they’d use in a real emergency. This allows your school community to gain more familiarity with the plan and become more confident with each drill. It also creates “muscle memory” in participants that increases response efficiency.
- Drills should also be conducted to test your school’s procedures and policies and reveal areas of weakness. Your safety team should immediately debrief after every drill. Teachers and students should also be encouraged to provide feedback.
- Analyze drill performance: To assess your drills well, schools need a method of tracking drill data and creating comprehensive reports that enable your staff to analyze what is working—and where you need to improve performance.
4. Involve parents and community members in the process
Including parents and community members in your emergency planning process has several benefits, including increased awareness, additional support and resources during severe weather events, and feedback on the effectiveness of severe weather drills, helping schools identify areas of weakness and implement changes that enhance safety and preparedness.
Involving parents and the community in severe weather drills can also help reassure students and staff that they are not alone in their efforts to stay safe. Having a strong support system in place can help reduce anxiety and promote a sense of security during emergencies.
5. Emergency Management System
Preparing for, responding to, and recovering from severe weather events can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. When you team with the right partner, they can bring knowledge and trusted solutions to keep your school safe not only against weather-related events, but all types of school emergencies.
The right emergency management system should be customizable to your school and district policies, as well as empower you to:
- Prepare your school for any situation, track all drills, and eliminate compliance risks,
- Initiate an emergency through a mobile panic button,
- Account for each individual on campus,
- Communicate real-time with administrators and staff, and
- Reunify students with approved guardians.
A system that also enables you to generate reports on your drills means you can learn and improve by seeing what is working—and where you need to improve performance.
Staying safe during severe weather
School visitor and emergency management systems can greatly improve your preparedness, response, and recovery. Raptor Visitor Management keeps track of everyone in your schools and integrates with Raptor Emergency Management. If you need to take shelter or evacuate, you will be able to account for everyone on campus—and keep track of where they are and how they are doing—on your mobile device, tablet, and desktop.
Raptor Emergency Management also enables schools to manage and conduct weather-related school safety drills. In actual emergencies, users can activate an emergency panic button from their mobile phones, connect with 9-1-1, and keep staff updated through group messaging.
To learn more, contact Raptor today to schedule a personalized demo.
Related Resources
Strategies for Effective K-12 Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
Responding and recovering from a severe weather event starts with creating a plan to keep everyone safe.
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