GW canceled classes on the first day of the spring semester after about four inches of snow blanketed D.C. on Monday evening.
Officials encouraged faculty to make all in-person classes Tuesday virtual in a GW Alert sent to community members Monday night. The University’s class cancellation follows snowfalls between 2.5 and 4 inches in D.C. on Monday night and a subsequent Winter Storm Warning issued by the National Weather Service for the area through 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Monday’s flurries mark the first snow of more than an inch in nearly two years in the District, according to the Washington Post.
Officials first encouraged faculty to move Tuesday classes before noon online in an initial GW Alert sent earlier Monday evening, setting afternoon courses for in-person instruction as normal. But officials changed gears just after midnight Tuesday, canceling all in-person courses Tuesday in a consecutive alert.
“Due to worsening weather conditions and other regional closures, all university campuses and centers will be closed and in-person classes canceled on Tuesday, Jan. 16,” the alert reads.
Essential staff are required to report for in-person work as scheduled, while all other staff should work remotely, the second GW Alert reads. The alert encouraged clinical enterprise employees to follow the guidance of their supervisors, with the Medical Faculty Associates set to open and operate on normal hours.
Officials also canceled all activities and University-sponsored events Tuesday, the alert states. The Mount Vernon Express will run on weekend hours, and the Virginia Science and Technology Campus shuttle will not operate on Tuesday, according to the alert.
GW Dining also reduced its Tuesday hours of operation for campus dining halls in response to the weather, with plans to open the Eatery at Pelham Commons and the Shenkman Hall dining hall at 8:30 a.m. instead of their usual 7:30 a.m. opening times, according to a GW Dining Instagram post shared Monday night.
The post did not specify how the snow would affect the hours of operation of the remaining dining halls in Thurston and Ross halls, District House and the University Student Center, but the campus dining website indicates that the vendors in those locations will be closed all day Tuesday.
Meteorologists predict an inch or so more of snow in the early hours of the night, cautioning drivers of slick roads and below-freezing temperatures. The snow will subside to a sleet Tuesday morning, according to the Post.
Snow might return to the area Friday, according to some forecasts.
