Anticipating the first serious snowfall of the winter, the University cancelled most operations at all campuses in Baltimore and D.C. yesterday.
However, while there was a dusting of snow early in the morning, it rained for most of the day.
Hopkins’s emergency notification system sent an email and text message to faculty and students yesterday morning at around 6:30, when meteorologists still forecasted anywhere from six to ten inches of snowfall in the Baltimore area.
“Just before that point, the forecast was dire. The outcome was obviously not dire, but the feeling was that asking faculty and staff — who have a longer way to go than students — to come in and risk hazardous conditions going home later in the day, that would have been too much,” University spokesman Dennis O’Shea said on Wednesday night.
In spite of the underwhelming weather on Wednesday, most students seemed to appreciate the day off.
“I think it was a responsible move to be precautious,” junior Merrill Anovick said. “And besides, students are always complaining about the quality of life at Hopkins and this day off was a nice break from the grind.”
The University cancelled all classes at the Homewood, Medical, Peabody, and SAIS campuses. Clinical practices at Hopkins Hospital carried on as usual.
The student-led staff of the Foreign Affairs Symposium had to reschedule its Wednesday event featuring financial journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin, author of Too Big To Fail.
“Although it was disappointing that we had to cancel our event because of the weather conditions, we were able to reschedule our event for next Wednesday and look forward to a big turnout then,” Executive Director junior Natalie Boyse said.
