Classes that begin after 4:30 p.m. this afternoon are now canceled, the University announced.

“All classes starting at 4:30 p.m. or later on Wednesday, January 26, 2011, are canceled for GW’s Foggy Bottom, Mt. Vernon and Virginia Science and Technology campuses and the university’s Arlington and Alexandria locations,” the University said in a Campus Advisory.

GW employees can leave at 4 p.m. with the approval of their department manager.

Although classes are canceled, the women’s basketball game is still scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. tonight.

The National Weather Service is predicting that between 5 and 10 inches of snow will fall in the District and surrounding areas beginning late this afternoon and lasting until early Thursday morning.

University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said the decision on whether or not the University will open Thursday will be made at around 5 a.m. Thursday morning.