LAST UPDATED: 5:53 p.m. CST
Vanderbilt’s AlertVU system sent out a warning about a tornado approaching campus May 3 at 4:40 p.m CST to the Vanderbilt community. A follow-up message was sent by AlertVU at 5:06 p.m. CST notifying the community that the tornado threat passed and canceled the warning.
Weather forecasts from NewsChannel 5 as of 5:03 p.m. CST indicate heavy thunderstorms/wind. WKRN News 2’s Stormtracker team has reported wind gusts of up to seventy miles per hour, but a tornado has yet to be confirmed by local weather stations.
“If lightning, high winds, or tornadoes are forecast to impact campus within 30 minutes, Vanderbilt Police are notified. Once a storm is forecast to impact campus within 15 minutes, the weather monitoring company will notify Vanderbilt Police to issue a warning for that specific storm,” the Vanderbilt Emergency Preparedness Website reads.
The text of the first AlertVU message at 4:40 p.m. CST read:
“ALERT! A tornado is approaching the Vanderbilt campus. Seek shelter immediately! Avoid windows and doors. Monitor local weather reports for additional information.”
The text of the second AlertVU message at 4:52 p.m. CST read:
“The tornado threat has passed for the Vanderbilt area and the warning is CANCELLED. Severe weather may still be possible. Please continue to monitor local weather reports.”
