Campus Alert Archive
Mercer

A Radar-Confirmed Storm Hovers Over Macon as Sirens Sound at Mercer

GAtornadoemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Just before 7 a.m. on March 12, 2026, Mercer University's Macon campus was placed under a tornado warning after the National Weather Service tracked a storm capable of producing a tornado near Lake Tobesofkee, moving east toward Macon. Sirens sounded across campus and Middle Georgia, radar showed the storm over Mercer's campus around 7:00 a.m. EDT, and the warning was lifted at 7:15 a.m. with classes continuing as scheduled.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Mercer University
Private R2 · GA
~9,000 studentsMercer Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSiren
Approximate reconstruction168 chars
Mercer Alert: TORNADO WARNING for Macon/Bibb County. Seek shelter immediately on the lowest floor, interior room, away from windows. Stay sheltered until the all clear.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: The Mercer Cluster reported sirens at 6:46 a.m. EDT and a shelter directive but did not publish verbatim Mercer Alert text.
Macon, Georgia observes Eastern time; on March 12, 2026 daylight saving was in effect, so the offset is EDT (UTC-4).
The warning was driven by a radar-indicated/confirmed storm near Lake Tobesofkee, not by a campus-specific hazard.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction148 chars
Mercer Alert: The tornado warning has been lifted. The storm has passed. It is safe to resume normal activities. Classes will continue as scheduled.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed all-clear: The Mercer Cluster reported the warning ended at 7:15 a.m. EDT and that classes continued, but the verbatim lift message was not published.
This is a true all-clear because it lifts the warning and states it is safe to resume activities.
The storm hovered over campus around 7:00 a.m. EDT before passing about 10 minutes later, a roughly 30-minute warning window.
Context

Background

At about 6:46 a.m. EDT on March 12, 2026, the National Weather Service tracked a storm capable of producing a tornado near Lake Tobesofkee, moving east at roughly 30 mph toward Macon, and Mercer University's campus was placed under a tornado warning with sirens sounding across campus and Middle Georgia. Radar showed the storm over Mercer's campus around 7:00 a.m. EDT before it passed about 10 minutes later, and the warning ended at 7:15 a.m.. Mercer told the community that classes would continue as scheduled. The event illustrates a textbook short-fuse tornado warning on a Southern campus: a brief, siren-driven shelter window for a fast-moving storm, followed by a quick all-clear once the cell cleared the area.
Analysis

Key Findings

The warning was a short-fuse event—about 30 minutes from siren to all-clear
Sirens, not just text alerts, drove the early-morning shelter instruction
Radar placed the storm directly over campus around 7:00 a.m. EDT before it moved off
Mercer kept classes on schedule once the warning was lifted, a common post-warning decision for non-damaging storms
Outcome
The storm passed over campus and the tornado warning ended at 7:15 a.m. EDT. No campus damage or injuries were reported, and Mercer told the community classes would continue as scheduled.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Update: Tornado warning lifted for Mercer campus - The Mercer Cluster
    mercercluster.com
  2. Official
    Severe Weather/Tornado - Mercer University EHSO
    ehso.mercer.edu
Tags
tornadoemergency-notificationgeorgiasevere-weathersirenmacon
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion