UNC has canceled a scheduled test of its emergency sirens initially set for Thursday due to the impending arrival of the remnants of Hurricane Michael.

The massive storm made landfall Wednesday in the Florida panhandle as a Category 4 hurricane and has been tracking across the southeastern United States. The storm, which has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, is expected to bring heavy rains to central North Carolina on Thursday.

UNC was scheduled to test its emergency sirens between noon and 12:30 p.m. Thursday as part of a campus-wide safety awareness program. The university then announced Wednesday evening that it was postponing the test due to the storm threat.

The sirens are typically used to signify an immediate threat to health or safety, ranging from an armed or dangerous person on campus to a tornado warning.

In addition to the sirens, the university uses a messaging system known as Alert Carolina to make the campus community aware of various issues affecting the campus.