Northwestern will not cancel classes despite anticipated freezing temperatures Friday, according to a University email sent to the community Wednesday. The decision follows a long history of hesitancy to shut down due to weather.
The National Weather Service predicts temperatures will reach a low of around 4 degrees below zero, with wind chills dropping to the minus 30 degrees.
An Extreme Cold Warning will be in effect for Evanston from 3 a.m. until noon Friday, which the NWS designates as “extremely dangerous,” with conditions potentially leading to hypothermia and frostbite. A Cold Weather Advisory is in effect from noon Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday.
NU has only closed its campuses seven times in little over a century due to cold temperatures or weather events. It last canceled classes due to weather Jan. 30, 2019, when the temperatures dropped below minus 20 degrees.
The University closed campus for two days in 2014 due to record-low temperatures and snow, delaying the start of Winter Quarter that academic year.
“Every circumstance is evaluated independently based on the expected or experienced weather conditions,” a University spokesperson wrote in an email to The Daily.
Several professors have moved their Friday classes online, and the University will operate Frostbite shuttles to offer daytime service on two existing evening-based routes.
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Evanston offers warming center hours as city faces extreme temperatures
— As Evanston experiences frigid temperatures, here’s where to find warming centers
