Students, their families and DeKalb residents were greeted Thursday by tornado warnings, rain, and flash floods.

Sirens sounded in DeKalb on Thursday, causing faculty, students, and their families to seek shelter.

According to DeKalb chief of Police Bill Feithen and DeKalb city Manager Mark Biernacki, weather and timing were the two factors that played into their sounding sirens.

At 12:57 pm, the National Weather Service issued a Severe Weather Warning for DeKalb County. Weather predictions included 60 mile per hour winds with the possibility of hail and flooding. Feithen said spotters viewed cloud rotation to the west of DeKalb near Malta.

This combination of weather conditions caused Biernacki and Feithen to make their decision to sound citywide sirens.

Thursdays timing of events also played a factor in the decision, as the massive influx of NIU students, combined with DeKalb area schools letting out as the storm system was at it’s worst, finalized their decision. Biernacki said local children were held in school for their safety and released when the worst of the weather passed.

Fresh faced students returning to DeKalb were greeted with road conditions throughout the city and on Annie Glidden Road on Thursday, exasperating frustrations of commuters in the southern DeKalb area.

“I was frustrated when Annie Glidden was closed and there were no detour signs.” said Amy Lassandrello, senior Elementary Education major.

Lassandrello was returning from student teaching at DeKalb’s Tyler School, located on Taylor Street during some of the worst weather. Road closures and detours caused a nearly 40 minute delay on her return home.

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