The chancellor is unsure whether the colleges will open Aug. 28 for the first class day.
By Zachary-Taylor Wright
zwright9@student.alamo.edu
The Alamo Colleges will be closed from noon Aug. 25 through Aug. 27 because of expected inclement weather, according to an interview with Chancellor Bruce Leslie Aug. 24 at Killen Center.
After a meeting with the National Weather Service on Aug. 24, Leslie said most of the storm is expected to take place east of Interstate 35, but he said the service is not certain where the hurricane will hit.
Will Davis, district emergency management coordinator, said they know Harvey is a Category 1 hurricane that is going to hit the coast of Texas, but officials are unsure if it will hit South Texas or Galveston.
According to the National Weather Service website, San Antonio is currently under a tropical storm warning, and a flash flood watch will be in effect at 1 p.m. Aug. 25 p.m. through the morning of Aug. 28.
The flash flood warning states:
“The watch area through early next week will average 10 to 20 inches along and east of Interstate 35 with isolated amounts in in excess of 25 inches possible along and south of Interstate 10.”
Leslie said the colleges will be open until noon Aug. 25. He said the weather service predicted most of the impact in this city to happen after 1 p.m. Aug. 25.
“All operations will be shut down and cancelled,” Leslie said. “That gives presidents and staff tomorrow time to secure as much as we can before the impending storm.”
Leslie recalled that a storm that hit Houston several years ago, circled back and hit twice, so he said officials cannot determine yet if the colleges will be open on Aug. 28.
This college had several events planned this weekend that are cancelled, including a new student orientation Aug. 26, a student convocation Friday and the Tech Store’s one-year anniversary Aug. 25.
Leslie said the weather service predicted between 6 and 20 inches of rain, and he is unsure what the damage will be.
Russell Guerrero, public information officer at this college, said the college could not contact every student signed up for events this weekend by phone call, but college personnel would use all social media accounts and the college website to inform students of the cancellations.
Guerrero was not sure if the college could contact all students by email.
An email was sent to students from this college Aug. 24.
Guerrero said the college would try to contact local media outlets that have morning shows to inform students of the cancellations.
Davis said he hopes people will look at the weather and use their best judgment when deciding to drive.
Davis said the colleges and departments are responsible for cancelling events, but the district can advise the college administrators on weather conditions and make suggestions.
