| Center management continues to monitor Hurricane Laura. The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane warning for our area. Hurricane Laura is now expected to become a Category 3 tomorrow, with peak intensity occurring late Wednesday afternoon and most likely a slight decrease before coming ashore early Thursday morning. Impacts to JSC are expected to begin Wednesday evening and 2 to 4 inches of rain is expected unless the track continues to shift west. The storm is moving quickly, though, so a stalling storm is not forecasted at this point. There is still some uncertainty in the track and a shift closer to JSC is a possibility. If the track shifts closer, the impacts in our area will be greater.
JSC will be closed for normal business Wednesday and Thursday. All level 3 activities should be completed by noon Wednesday and the Center will transition to ride out team members only after noon. The Center is supporting unscheduled leave (formerly known as liberal leave) for civil servants during the storm period. Civil servants who believe they need to take leave today or adjust their schedule to prepare for severe weather today or tomorrow are able to do so by using leave time. To ensure continuity of operations, unless otherwise directed by your management for critical activities, employees are expected to telework when weather impacts or Center status does not interfere with an employee’s ability to telework safely (e.g. power loss, internet loss, alternate worksite becomes unsafe, and/or you’ve been encouraged to or directed to evacuate). Your safety is the first priority. Mission critical employees should discuss alternate work strategy with your manager in case it is unsafe to travel to the center. Contractors should talk to their supervisors for their company’s policy. Employees who telework remotely and are not impacted by the storm are expected to continue to telework. Please make adjustments to onsite meetings to enable virtual participation and to virtual meetings to reschedule as necessary to accommodate those who may be impacted. The small group of employees currently cleared to work onsite due to pandemic are encouraged to take home any materials that will enable telework should weather conditions prevent physical access to JSC this week. If severe weather and/or evacuation reasonably prevents telework, your supervisor is authorized to approve XLV61. Further WebTADS instructions will follow should severe weather impact the JSC area. The VPN link and instructions are found at https://cso.nasa.gov/resources/user-guides-and-tips/. If you have your JSC laptop or other government equipment at home, please take measures to safeguard it during the storm. Employees should monitor www.jscsos.com for Center Status and watch the latest advisories on Hurricane Laura’s impact to their area at www.nhc.noaa.gov. Coordinate any special circumstances you might have with your supervisor. Helpful Links: JSC SOS website – www.jscsos.com National Hurricane Center – https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ Explanation of hurricane levels – https://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/pages.ashx/1480/Hurricane%20in%20a%20Pandemic%20Info%20and%20Updates |
| External Relations Office |
April 24, 2024 - JSC is Open
JSC is Open