MU classes shut down for snow

By Mallory Redinger

Published Dec. 1, 2006

For only the fourth time since 1978, classes at MU were cancelled due to bad weather.

According to MU spokeswoman Mary Jo Banken, essential services at the university would remain open, including University Hospital, animal care and student facilities such as dining halls.

Banken said employees should decide themselves whether to come to work based on their own personal safety. If they did not show up for work, however, they would have to take a day of vacation or personal leave.

The decision was made when maintenance crews went out early this morning to monitor conditions on roads leading to campus, Banken said. She noted that three out of four crews got stuck while checking for road conditions.

Once a report came from the crews to Jackie Jones, vice chancellor for administrative services, she then relayed a recommendation to Deaton. He was in Kansas City at the time of her call, Banken said, and made the decision to cancel classes around 4:30 a.m.

At 5 a.m., 13 inches of snow had accumulated outside Brady Commons near Kuhlman Court. Snow was continuing to fall at that time.

Major roads such as Rollins Street were noticeably unplowed at that time, leaving a potentially hazardous situation for students driving to school.

When The Weather Channel put out a winter storm warning on Wednesday for a storm that would consist of freezing rain, sleet and a predicted 8 to 12 inches of snow, some MU students found it incomprehensible — especially because on Sunday, the temperature in Columbia reached a high of 70 degrees.

"We are trying to make sure that students are aware of the winter storm because students don't always pay attention to the news, particularly the weather," Director of Residential Life Frankie Minor said.

In a previous Maneater article, MU spokesman Christian Basi said the university rarely cancels classes because of inclement weather and that he had remembered classes only being canceled three times, in 1978, 1995 and 1998.

The 1995 closure was a result of a record 19.7 inches of snow.

Minor said the change in weather can be stressful for some students.

"For many of our students who come from out of state, or for many of our international students, this may be a very different experience for them," Minor said. "For folks who are used to cold weather and a lot of snow and ice, this may be no big deal to them."

Sophomore Michael Oldroyd, originally born in California but who now resides in Missouri with his family, experienced some of these unexpected changes. Oldroyd said he has heard to "expect the unexpected" about Missouri weather.

Atmospheric science professor Tony Lupo said dramatic turnovers in weather are common in this part of the country.

"We're in the middle of the continent battling between the warm moist air from the gulf and the very cold air from Canada," Lupo said. "What is unusual is the amount of moisture being carried by this storm. It's not dramatically unusual, but it is different for this time of year."

Lupo said, with a winter storm like this, people should expect many different types of precipitation. The sleet, snow and freezing rain will originate from the northern end of the storm, depending on how far into the cold air the area is. The more typical thunderstorms emerge on the southern edge of a storm system.

Already on schedule, MU Campus Facilities, Landscape Services, Residential Life, and MU Police Department have started to work toward making the large snowfall a little less hazardous and inconvenient for students.

Campus Facilities Spokesman Phil Shocklee and Director of Landscape Services Pete Millier said MU has already determined a snow removal plan that gets updated each year.

Shocklee said at midnight, a staff of about 50 will begin work on keeping campus safe, including salting sidewalks and walkways, plowing the streets and placing sand in the parking garages. Though there are no guarantees, the staff will clear as much snow as possible, which ensures that classes will most likely take place.

Minor said Residential Life has also been adequately trained for emergency situations.

"Given the fact that we have experienced cold weather events before, we know which way our systems get stressed," Minor said. "Plus we always maintain staff on call to respond to different situations."

Minor said students should take the bad weather as an opportunity to rest and study because it is dangerous to travel in such weather.

"We have not had six inches of snow in Columbia since January of 2003," Lupo said. "And we have not had four inches since November of 2004. This snowfall will be one of the biggest in quite some time, if it comes."