Winter Storm Preparedness Update for Boone and Hickory Campuses

Thursday, January 22, 2026

The National Weather Service has issued Winter Storm Watches for Watauga County and Catawba County in effect from Saturday morning through Monday afternoon.

App State is in regular communication with the National Weather Service and other community partners in Boone and Hickory regarding forecast developments. While details continue to be refined, forecast models point to a potentially significant winter storm resulting in at least moderate adverse impacts across much of North Carolina. A mix of sleet, freezing rain, and/or snow could create adverse travel conditions and result in power outages across the region.

Preparedness actions are ongoing according to the university’s established emergency readiness plans. 

What the university is doing:

  • Staffing plans are in place to ensure continuity of essential services that support the health and wellbeing of students.
  • Residence halls and main dining facilities will remain open. For dining facility hours, visit dining.appstate.edu.
  • Coordinating with local and state partners should we need to implement emergency response plans.
  • Ensuring plows and snow clearing equipment are ready.
  • The university has stocked up on road salt, food supplies and bottled water.
  • Continual monitoring of residence halls and other critical campus facilities and buildings on the Boone and Hickory campuses.
  • New River Light & Power, which is owned and operated by the university, has crews and staff ready to respond should power outages occur. The utility is taking proactive steps to ensure personnel, equipment and response plans are in place to maintain system reliability and restore power as safely and quickly as possible. Should we experience an extended power loss that results in any safety concerns, including keeping our students warm, we have action plans in place to address such extreme circumstances and will communicate them as needed.

What you should do:

To help you prepare for winter weather conditions, such as possible power outages, consider the following actions:

  • Have access to flashlights with extra batteries.
  • Obtain extra drinking water for household members and pets.
  • Fill vehicles with fuel and charge electric vehicles in advance.
  • Stock food items that do not require electricity to prepare.
  • Stock medical supplies and medications, including prescriptions, in advance.
  • Have access to a battery powered NOAA weather radio.
  • Have a basic first aid kit for your home and vehicle.
  • Have blankets and warm layers of clothing on hand at home and in vehicles.
  • Designate a “warm room” by keeping doors closed and sealing doors and windows to retain heat.
  • Charge phones, medical devices and backup batteries ahead of time.

Downed power lines should be reported directly to your power company below, or call 911 right away if there is immediate danger. 

  • NRLP customers can call 828-264-3671 to report an outage or check outage status at nrlp.appstate.edu. 
  • Blue Ridge Energy customers can call 1-800-448-2383 to report an outage or check outage status at bremco.maps.sienatech.com.
  • Duke Energy customers can call 800-769-3766 or check outage status at duke-energy.com/outages. 

If you are planning to attend campus events this weekend:
Some events planned for Saturday, Jan. 24, have already been canceled or postponed. Check with the presenter or host department of any event you are planning to attend to confirm if the event has been rescheduled or canceled.

Keep in mind that travel conditions will vary across the state. If you are traveling this weekend, check the forecast and weather conditions along your route and make plans accordingly. Always use caution traveling during inclement weather.

How App State communicates about adverse weather:
Notifications about impacts to campus operations are sent by the university in advance depending on anticipated weather impacts. Messages related to class and operations changes are emailed, posted to appstatealert.com, distributed to local media and posted to university Facebook and X accounts.

Prepare for potential remote learning and working:
Information Technology Services encourages installation, testing and required maintenance of remote working, teaching or learning resources to ensure availability and functionality when these options are needed.

Key tools and resources include:

App State has a systems dashboard, status.appstate.edu with information if the university is experiencing outages, scheduled maintenance or other programmatic issues. Sign up for text notifications

Need help?

Links for further information:
http://appstatealert.com/ 
https://emergency.appstate.edu/emergencies/winter-weather 
https://nrlp.appstate.edu/ 
https://readync.org/ 
https://www.weather.gov/