It Never Snows in Seattle … and Definitely NOT in February! How the UW planned for, responded to & recovered from the “historic” February 2019 snow event A presentation to the U-wide H&S Committee March 13, 2019 Steven Charvat, UWEM Director Photo courtesy of UW Facilities

Today’s Quick Dog-n-Pony Show….. Overview of the February storm (stats & timelines) Pre-event Planning & Preparation Actions Storm Response Actions Post-Storm Recovery What Did we Learn? Q&A Photo courtesy of UW Facilities

So, how Much Snow DID we Get this Winter? But all this fell in just 10 days!

Why was this event “different” from the past? Unusual Weather Patterns (normal winter = 7” in PS lowlands) Remember, the predicted “La Nina” Winter?? The Frasier River outflow … Old Man Winter’s secret weapon The unique complexities of forecasting “micro-climates” in the Pacific Northwest Compounding factor of multiple, back-to-back-to-back storms, with no warming in between (or ICE!) Changes in public expectations and demands Social media Commuting patterns Just-in-time inventory

Day-by-Day Synopsis (Seattle campus only) Monday, February 4th Suspends Operations due to increased snow accumulation. Snow accumulation 2.7 inches.   Tuesday, February 5th Suspends Operations due to continued cold & icy conditions. Wednesday, February 6th Normal Operations resume at UW Seattle. Friday, February 8th Suspends Operations at 12:30pm and all-day Saturday due to increasing snow accumulations. Additional snow accumulation 6.4 inches. Governor Jay Inslee declares State of Emergency. Monday, February 11th Suspends Operations. Additional snow accumulations since Friday 2/8 11.1 inches Tuesday, February 12th Suspends Operations again Wednesday, February 13th Delayed-start of operations until 9:30am Thursday, February 14th UW Seattle resume normal operations (UW-B 2 more days closed)

Just be Glad we Didn’t Repeat 1968-69!

Pre-Event Preparedness Activities & Actions Finalized the Seattle campus’ 1st Inclement Weather Plan Trained Leadership on SOPs Established a Weather Status Assessment Group (WSAG) Annual HR winter prep letter Some departments and units reviewed snow plans with staff & pre-positioned assets, modified staff schedules, etc… EOC updated contact lists & placed responders on “stand- by” mode, if needed

Switching to Response Mode Essential Service Staff – Our hero's UW never “closes” ! Regular, frequent UW Alerts, Advisories and messaging All critical functions* performed with minimal disruption EOC and URCs activated Photo courtesy of UW Facilities Photo courtesy of UW Facilities Photo courtesy of UW Facilities Photo courtesy of UW Facilities Photo courtesy of UW Facilities

Now the part nobody talks about: Recovery Re-opening still remains a challenge Restocking (people, supplies, equipment) How much did this cost? How did the academy adjust to 7-10 days of disruption? Did we learn anything?... … or are we making any changes?

Documenting our Success & Challenges Hot washes Informal team meetings & discussions After-Action Reviews (AARs) Happening at all levels Develop actions plans for future Improvement Take time to recognize the good

We’ve had the appetizer…. Are you ready for the Main Course !?