MU, Boone County prepare to use alert systems as severe weather rolls into Mid-Missouri Tuesday
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The University of Missouri is prepared to use its alert system on Tuesday, as strong storms could move into the area.
Parts of Mid-Missouri were under a tornado watch on Tuesday evening, stretching from Sedalia to Paris. Other areas risk seeing the possibility of damaging wind, large hail and rainfall as the storm makes its way through the area.
The University of Missouri has a system in place -- known as MU Alerts -- to alert students if they need to take shelter in the event that severe weather hits. Faculty and students can receive the alerts via text message and email. The university also posts alerts to its 'X' page.
Spokesman Christopher Ave said MU is prepared to communicate the urgent messages to students and faculty on Tuesday, if necessary. The system was last tested in September 2025 and the university also tested its 'X' alert around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
"Whenever severe weather poses an immediate threat to campus, we can use them to alert and communicate appropriate instructions," Ave said. "It's also important to note that the National Weather Service triggers our MU Alert messages to be sent whenever a tornado warning has been issued and if it touches campus or is close to campus, an MU alert will go out."
The university last used the system in January to announce remote operations after snowfall hit Mid-Missouri, Ave said. The system is also used to alert students to potential crime scenes or danger on campus. One alert was sent out at the start of the school year as police responded to a car backfiring that was initially called in as a shots-fired case.
MU sophomore Mary Davison said she finds the alerts to be helpful for students who may not be signed up for local news stations or other places where they could stay up to date on weather.
"I personally don't check my phone that often, so I don't stay up to date with things that are going on downtown or weather that often," Davison said. "But when I get a text from the MU Alert, that's a nice and easy way for me to just see my phone and then I'm in the know of what's going on."
Davison also said she thinks the system can be useful for students who may not be used to, or know, what to do when a tornado rolls through to be better prepared and stay safe.
Davisons' friend, MU junior Ella Goldinger, also said she finds the alerts to be helpful, especially for college students to stay aware of what's happening outside of their "bubble." She said she remembers when the university sent an alert last April, after an EF-1 tornado hit Columbia.
"I remember getting home and I got the news that there was an actual tornado in Columbia at that time and I got our cat and I laid in my bathtub downstairs, so it was nice to have that layer of safety and then also 'OK, we're safe now,'" Goldinger said.
Sophomore Emily Marty said she finds the alerts to be more useful when it comes to potential crime on campus because she typically stays in the know using her weather app.
However, she said she can see how others find them useful.
"Especially those who don't use their weather app on their phone as much who rely on those notifications I think that can be very beneficial," Marty said.
The university says it often does drills to assess existing plans and policies, while also testing the emergency alert system. Every semester, all members of the campus community participate in these drills, according to its website.
To sign-up to receive MU Alerts, students can register through their myZou accounts. Faculty and staff can register through their myHR accounts. Parents, community members and others who do not have an account with the university can sign up for alerts in two ways.
People can view resources and safety tips here.
Boone County's outdoor warning sirens ready to sound
Boone County's outdoor warning sirens are ready to sound on Tuesday, if a tornado were to touch down in the area.
According to Deputy Director of the Boone County Office of Emergency Management Jake Waller, the county could not test its sirens last week for what was supposed to be its monthly test due to inclement weather. However, he said the system runs silent connectivity checks twice daily and remain confident in their reliability.
Waller said any issues detected are immediately reported for immediate follow-up.
Waller said Boone County OEM starts preparations for severe weather days in advance. He said a meeting was had on Tuesday to determine who would be in the Emergency Operations Center and tested to make sure radios and TVS were working.
Waller said OEM works to monitor 911 calls, watches the weather radar and MODOT travel cameras and communicates with different municipalities and organizations.
"If we start seeing a lot of reports of damage or power outages or anything like that, like maybe an uptick in 911 calls, lines down, tree limbs down, then we'll start coordinating common messaging between all of the different municipalities and organizations and coordinating calls with our utility partners to help facilitate getting utilities back on," Waller said.
Waller said he encourages people to report storm damage to their property to OEM. That can be done here.
He also said it's important that people don't solely rely on outdoor warning sirens and should also rely on NOAA Weather Radio, Wireless Emergency Alerts, local media, and other alerting tools to receive severe weather warnings.
