Update 7:45 p.m. All classes on Tuesday, Feb. 9 have been canceled, according to GW Campus Advisories.
Update 7:05 p.m. The federal government will be closed Tuesday, according to the Office of Personnel Management. George Mason University and D.C. Public Schools have also announced they will not be open Tuesday but the D.C. government will open with a 1-hour delay.
Update 3:34p.m. The projected snow total has been increased, in “Snowmaggedon”-appropriate all-caps, to 10 to 20 inches, according to an AlertDC message sent Monday afternoon.
“National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for D.C., effective noon tomorrow to 7PM Wednesday. All parts of the forecast that were just sent remain the same, except the projected snow totals HAVE BEEN INCREASED TO 10-20″.”
Update 2:54p.m. The National Weather Service has updated its winter storm watch. “There is a good likelihood of snow in excess of 10 inches,” the alert now reads.
The additional snow will make digging the region out from under the weekend’s 26 inches of snow even more difficult and calls into question University operations for the rest of the week.
One of the biggest issues threatening classes and day-to-day operations is the commute of professors and staffers into the city. Many faculty members and employees rely on public transportation (which has been limited) or live in the greater D.C. area where downed trees have cut power and unplowed roads are proving impassable.
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Lehman, who makes the final decision about canceling classes alongside Executive Vice President and Treasurer Lou Katz, said on Sunday that the three “key aspects” the University weighed in closing the school on Monday are “the safety of faculty and staff members in getting to and from GW, the lack of sufficient public transportation, and that many neighborhoods in MD, VA, and DC have yet to be plowed.”
Outside Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, American, Howard and Catholic universities joined GW in canceling Monday classes but have made no announcements regarding Tuesday’s operations. The federal government, which loses about $100 million for each day its D.C.-area offices are closed, has also not announced whether it will be open Tuesday.
Nearby Loudon County, where GW’s Virginia Campus is located, has canceled classes for the rest of the week.
Update Sunday 9:57 p.m. Enough snow yet? The National Weather Service is forecasting another 5 to 8 inches of snow will fall mid-afternoon Tuesday through Wednesday afternoon even as the District continues to dig itself out from this weekend’s blizzard.
If at least four inches fall, this year will be Washington’s snowiest winter since Reagan National Airport became the weather station of record for the city, according to The Washington Post.
