All classes and activities are canceled Friday due to a winter storm, UB announced Thursday. Evening classes Thursday will still be held, but the university is encouraging the UB community to “use caution when traveling to and from campus.”
Services “related to the health and safety of students, faculty, staff, and guests” will continue throughout the storm. Essential employees will be expected to work, but should contact their supervisor if they cannot travel to campus due to weather conditions.
Nonessential UB staff will be assigned remote work for Friday if possible. Nonessential employees who have accrued a vacation day should be able to take the day off with approval from their supervisor.
Classes at UB were canceled due to severe winter weather only nine times in the past decade.
Two to four feet of snow are expected to fall over the next few days, with the heaviest accumulation expected in Southern Buffalo and Lancaster. Snowfall rates could exceed three inches per hour Friday night, with wind gusts of up to 35 mph.
The National Weather Service issued a lake effect snow warning for Northern Erie County from 7 p.m. Thursday to 1 p.m. Sunday. Lake effect snow warnings have also been issued for Niagara, Genesee, Wyoming, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties.
New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in 11 counties, six of which are in Western New York. The state is sending 21 plow trucks, a bulldozer and 87 personnel to the region.
“I urge all New Yorkers to stay prepared and vigilant over the next few days, making sure to look after vulnerable loved ones and neighbors,” Hochul said in a statement.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced in a tweet that a travel advisory will go into effect at 7 p.m. Thursday in all of Erie County. Poloncarz also announced in a separate tweet that travel bans are being considered for the “most affected” parts of the county. Erie County is expected to announce any bans by 11 p.m. Thursday.
The university is encouraging students to sign up for text messages from UB Alert to stay up to date on how this storm and future emergency situations will affect UB.
Grant Ashley is the managing editor and can be reached at grant.ashley@ubspectrum.com
Grant Ashley is the editor in chief of The Spectrum. He's also reported for NPR, WBFO, WIVB and The Buffalo News. He enjoys taking long bike rides, baking with his parents’ ingredients and recreating Bob Ross paintings in crayon. He can be found on the platform formerly known as Twitter at @Grantrashley.
