Extreme winds and rain hit Andover and neighboring towns, leading to numerous fallen trees and damaged power lines across campus on September 8. A campus-wide shelter-in-place was enforced for over two hours, starting at 2:50 p.m.
“URGENT: A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for the Andover area. Possibility of damaging winds and heavy rain. Be prepared to seek shelter indoors,” warned one of the text messages sent to the student body by Campus Safety.
Andover lost power across a majority of buildings, leading to outages of internet service and Blue Card access to dorms and academic buildings. However, streams of communication were maintained via text channels and Outlook by the Dean of Students and Residential Life, Susan Esty.
House Counselors and Day Student Advisors were advised to check in with their accounted students. All afternoon activities, including athletics, were canceled, and a warning to prepare for another storm was delivered to the school community.
“Even as this storm passes, we are still assessing the safety of our campus, and there is potential for another storm to come through our area this afternoon/evening. Please shelter in a safe place until further notice. All activities, including athletics, are canceled. With trees and power lines down, Campus Safety and the [Office of Physical Plant] need to assess damage and potential risks across campus,” wrote Esty in the first of four emails sent to students.
Campus Safety, along with several emergency vehicles, unlocked doors to dormitories and worked to mitigate damage on school grounds. Fallen trees blocked access to roads and buildings, such as Graves Hall and Stuart House.
Orders to stay indoors were briefly lifted, allowing students to have dinner in Paresky Commons before face-to-face sign in, which was shifted to 7:00 p.m. rather than the usual 10:00 p.m. Day Students were also encouraged to leave campus by 7:00 p.m. In one of Esty’s emails, students were reminded to comply with all school rules and to refrain from ordering food deliveries to “protect the safety of the broader community.”
Skyler Siegfried ’25, who found shelter in the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library (OWHL), highlighted how the sudden appearance of the storm seemed to catch some faculty off guard. Siegfried also expressed his appreciation at the prompt communication from the academy.
“It might have been helpful if the faculty were a bit more centralized in the first couple moments, so I didn’t think there was too much of a group response to keep people in the building at first, I saw people coming in and out. But I think the initial text and the emails were really rapid and I really appreciated those,” said Siegfried.
Addy Zorrilla ’25, whose house on campus had been struck by two trees, also stayed in the OWHL. She appreciated the procedures in place to make sure students stayed indoors.
“In terms of safety, I felt very safe. There was a pretty quick response, before I even knew it, people were at the door, and there were teachers there keeping us in. I wasn’t able to leave the library, so that says something,” said Zorrilla.
