HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah – When the northern Utah forecast calls for snow, employees need to know the procedures Hill Air Force Base when considering delayed reporting or closing the base because of inclement weather.
When such a decision is being considered, it usually occurs in the early-morning hours after base officials have taken into consideration the road conditions, the current and future weather forecasts, as well as employee safety and mission needs.
Depending on the weather circumstances, base officials have three options to choose from when inclement weather makes driving conditions hazardous:
Delayed reporting: The purpose for delayed reporting during hazardous weather conditions is to allow base personnel additional time for safe travel to the base. Delayed reporting applies to military and civilian personnel. Leave may not be charged. The expected reporting time will be specified, but it’s normally up to two hours, to give employees time to report to work. Base contractors should refer to their company’s policy.
Early release: Unit commanders and supervisors will release personnel who are designated "non-weather emergency essential" according to the guidelines of the early release notification. Commanders should stagger the release to avoid traffic congestion with exiting the base.
Mission essential reporting: When a decision is made to close the base, personnel identified by their commanders and supervisors as “mission essential” are to report for duty. Military members not required to report will be placed on telephone standby. Civilian personnel not required to report will be placed on administrative leave as granted by the installation commander.
When one of these options is directed, the primary means for communicating the change will occur through the base’s AtHoc Notification System, which sends a message to users through a call out, email and text message.
Base employees can sign up for AtHoc notifications by right clicking the “purple planet” icon at the bottom right of their government-issued computer’s desktop screen and clicking on “Access Self-Service” to update their contact information and enable notifications.
In addition, the information will be posted to Hill AFB’s official Facebook and Twitter. Local radio and television stations will also be notified to spread the word if the base is closed. The stations will only be notified when the base closes. They will not be contacted when the base remains open.
Note: If conditions at home are severe enough to warrant changes to an employee’s normal reporting time, but one of the options has not been directed, they should always contact their supervisor or work center to discuss alternate reporting or leave arrangements.
Road Condition Advisories
A related concern is driving under snowy and icy conditions. People operating vehicles at Hill AFB during inclement weather need to slow down and drive with the conditions of the roadways. Speed, following too closely, and decreased visibility are major problems to safe driving.
Road condition advisories are as follows:
• Roads are clear and dry. Drivers should comply with normal vehicle operating procedures and posted speed limits.
• Roads are wet and may be slippery due to ice, snow, or reduced visibility. All drivers should exercise caution and must reduce speeds up to 5 mph below the speed limit.
• The road conditions are hazardous due to excess snow fall, high winds, heavy precipitation and ice, or reduced visibility. All drivers who must be on the road should use extreme caution and reduce speeds up to 15 mph throughout the installation and 5 mph in housing and parking areas.
• The road conditions are extremely hazardous due to ice, snow, high winds, heavy precipitation, or reduced visibility. Only those required to by their commander and/or director to report for duty are authorized to drive on base. Drivers must exercise extreme caution and should reduce speeds up to 20 mph or more for the entire installation, 10 mph for housing and parking areas. Limit travel to only mission essential and essential security/lifesaving response only.