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Ball State is on the verge of being certified by the National Weather Service as storm-ready

The university met the requirement of having a severe weather action plan, and it needs to have in place three forms of media to provide severe weather information.

BSU has tornado sirens. As for the other two methods, one student is leading the effort to put those in place.

Korey Klein is a senior meteorology major and the director of BSU's storm chasers.

Klein said the second form of media shouldn't be too difficult. He hopes to put a link on the BSU web site which would provide weather alerts for Delaware County.

But the third method is proving to be a bit more challenging.

Klein would like to purchase weather radios for all campus buildings, including dormitories. He said that means purchasing 100 radios, plus batteries, for around $3,000.

Klein said he's working with the Residence Hall Association and BSU's academic department's to come up with the necessary funds.

"I just think it's a great idea to have the campus ready for a severe weather event because they can strike really without much warning and can cause a lot of devastation," Klein said. "We are very vulnerable to severe weather, so having us storm ready certified hopefully will save lives."

Klein may get the money he's looking for by way of a grant from the Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

He aims to have the radios by next spring. If and when that happens, BSU will be ready to become one of about 50 universities nationwide to be certified as storm-ready.

Throughout the county

Jason Rogers is the director of emergency management in Delaware County. He's been working with the National Weather Service to put a weather station on the air in Muncie.

NOAA All Hazards Radio KJY 93 recently went on the air after a year of planning. The station is programmed by the National Weather Service office in Indianapolis.

Anybody in Muncie and surrounding areas can hear the station with a weather radio. The station broadcasts forecasts and current conditions, as well as any watches or warnings that may arise.

"On certain clear days, you would pick up Indianapolis much greater than you would Fort Wayne or vice versa," Rogers said. "We just didn't want to rely during a weather event, having there be coverage lapses."

There's a transmitter on top of a building on the BSU campus. That means the station's signal can penetrate the buildings, unlike the signals of other radio stations and even cell phones.

Rogers said the county's Emergency Management Agency has also improved the coverage of tornado sirens in the county by buying bigger and better sirens. He said a new siren in Daleville covers a mile, whereas the old siren covered much less than that.

Rogers also said the county is looking for volunteers to take part in the storm spotter program. Anybody who is interested can call the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency at 747-4888.