College prepares for inclement weather

The holidays have passed, and the brief period of snow early Thursday was a timely reminder that wintery weather is with us.

MHCC is prepared to alert students on any hazardous weather conditions, emergency closures or late openings.

Director of Communications Maggie Huffman and Laurie Miller, administrative services executive assistant, work together to write about inclement weather alerts, such as emergency closures and late openings.

“By 5 a.m., the Facilities Department will survey the campus and neighborhood, confirm with the MHCC president (Michael Hay), I get the phone call and my job is to get the message out to people around campus,” Huffman said.

“If it appears that we are having inclement weather, students can find out from a variety of sources,” Huffman said.

The first source is through the MHCC homepage, the second source is MHCC’s radio station, and the third source is through the Flash Alert Messenger App.

Those who register for the Flash Alert receive emergency notices related to closures, late starts, etc. There is no cost to use the service. Those who registered for Flash Alert in the past year will need to re-register. To register for Flash Alert, log onto FlashAlert.net.

The newest component added to Flash Alert is the push notification feature, created in autumn 2012. It is an app on a mobile device that allows students to receive alerts directly from the source of information. The Flash Alert Messenger App is for smartphones or tablets and is available to download at Google Play and the iTunes app store.

“Students also have the option to receive weather inclement reports through Twitter and email,” Miller said. Students can log onto their Flash Alert messenger app account and set up an account so that they can receive messages to their Twitter or email. The Flash Alert messenger app can be a faster and more reliable way for students to be alerted on what is going on around campus.

“We want to make sure everyone is safe,” Miller said.

For more information about inclement weather, contact Maggie Huffman at [email protected]. For more information about Flash Alert, log onto FlashAlert.net.