After a blizzard bringing sub-zero temperatures and dumping more than a foot of snow caused the closure of all major roads into Laramie, the University of Wyoming decided early Wednesday afternoon to cancel classes and activities and dismiss non-essential staff.
Wednesday evening UW announced through its alert system that classes, activities and non-essential work would also be canceled Thursday.
Campus operations are expected to resume a normal schedule Friday, per a Wednesday evening announcement. The National Weather Service lifted its blizzard warning Thursday afternoon, though Interstate 80 to Cheyenne and Rawlins remained closed as of 4 p.m. Thursday.
The University of Wyoming is widely known for its persistence in remaining open during winter storms. Multiple institutions in the region cancelled classes Tuesday night, including Colorado State University, Laramie Community College, Laramie High School and other educational institutions in Cheyenne, but UW remained open until 1 p.m. Wednesday.
“The decisions to close early Wednesday and all day Thursday were based on the safety of students and employees,” said Chad Baldwin, UW associate vice president of communications and marketing. “The combination of deep snow and high winds created extremely difficult travel conditions that jeopardized safety. Those conditions were not in place Wednesday morning. When they reached a dangerous level around midday, the decision was made to close.”
Some students were still surprised to receive a text alert and email about the cancellation of classes and activities after 1 p.m. and even more surprised when a 9:15 p.m. notice Wednesday night cancelling classes and all activities on campus for Thursday.
Closures on Thursday included transit services, the Wyoming Union, Half Acre Recreation and Wellness Center, Coe Library and the Early Childhood and Education Center. Washakie Dining Center, High Altitude Performance Center and Training Table and residence halls remained open.
“The safety of the campus community and our guests is a primary consideration when responding to emerging weather-related emergencies,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Sean Blackburn. “We carefully monitor National Weather Service information and local observations to make timely decisions for the community. We also communicate with the Albany County Emergency Management team and other local partners to coordinate our response.”
As a result of the shutdown, some professors have rescheduled midterm exams and quizzes. The Jeff Hamilton Trio performance and ski executive Jerry Blann’s talk, scheduled for March 14, were canceled. A play reading and discussion of Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare’s “An Iliad” is rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 15 at the Laramie Plains Civic Center.
The closures have also impacted facilities that serve on-campus residences and the community.
“Another primary concern is maintaining critical services to residential students and other ongoing operations of the University,” said Blackburn. “The University of Wyoming never fully shuts down considering our 2,400 on-campus resident students, on-going research projects and the 189 buildings on 835 acres [of the Laramie campus] that must remain heated, powered and secured year round.”
Though the National Weather Service has lifted its blizzard warning, the Cheyenne NWS office and Wyoming Highway Patrol recommend avoiding travel if at all possible. Highways throughout the state are closed or have slick conditions. A full map of closures and current road conditions is available at Map.WyoRoad.info/wtimap/index.html.
