Living in Kansas, it is always a big mystery as to why we have tornados in the winter and 90-degree weather on Christmas day. It is bipolar and it is hard to predict if the seasons are going to start early or late. It is always the best idea to keep a cold outfit or a blanket in the car even if it is 90 degrees outside. It is never known with Kansas weather, and to top it off people could blow away at any moment. There have been a few days out of the year when Garden City has had to shut down school because it was so windy outside. Also, it hardly ever snows here, and when it does, school is canceled almost every time. Recently, Garden City was hit with a thunderstorm above 80 miles an hour with hail that made it look like Christmas. It is February, and according to the groundhog we are supposed to be having six more weeks of winter.

This is not a surprise for those who have lived in Kansas for a while, but for those who are not from here, it could be terrifying and very confusing. This storm swept hundreds of miles across the central and southern plains and multiple tornados were spotted. A tornado that touched down 20 miles from Garden City tore off the roof of a barn and drove 2×4 beams into the ground. Overall, there were 17 tornados that touched down all over the US on Sunday, February 26, 2023. It only begins here, as spring comes about, the storms are going to be happening more often. There are multiple different procedures and instructions for students when Garden City is under tornado watch or warning.

First things first, a global email via bustermail will be sent out to all staff and students. When a warning is initiated for Garden City, there will be external tornado sirens that will go off around town. Once this happens, there will be another email sent that will tell students to go to a tornado shelter. There are multiple tornado shelters around camps. A few of these shelters include restrooms and interior offices of the Academic Building (ACAD), basement interior classrooms and basement classrooms of the Access and Opportunity Center (SCSC), the laundry room of Buster Housing, interior restrooms of the Buster Suites, restrooms and practice rooms and basement in Fine Arts (JOYC), locker rooms or football storage in the gym, women’s restrooms in the Saffell Library, restrooms and interior offices of the science and math building (FOUSE), residential west first-floor hallway and first-floor restrooms of student housing. There will also be a picture of the campus map posted that indicates tornado shelters in each building. If the building is damaged, evacuate the building after the storm passes and be aware of debris, damaged power lines, and gas leaks. Please be sure to report any injuries to GCCC campus safety and emergency responders. Students can find out if school is going to be canceled due to weather from Bustermail, RAVE, KSN TV-11 (KSNW, Wichita), KUPK TV-13 (KAKE, Wichita), KBSD TV-6 (KWCH, Wichita), Western Kansas Broadcast Center, and KIUL AM Radio.