The UW-Madison campus is preparing for an onslaught of cold weather events this week including sub-zero temperatures and nearly a foot of predicted snowfall.
The upcoming conditions have the campus wondering what the likelihood of getting a day off will be during the bitter cold. The short answer is not very.
UW-Madison has a history of conservative policy when it comes to allocating snow days and/or extreme cold days. The last time class was canceled as a result of cold weather was in 2012 when 15.2 inches of snow fell within 24 hours in Madison, the fourth highest total in the city’s history according to Weather Underground.
Snowfall over the next few days is not expected to reach the levels it did in 2012 but will still be significant.
Extreme cold forced interim vice chancellor Richard Barrows in January of 1994 to close Memorial and Steenbock libraries early, but classes remained as scheduled. The high temperature that day was -13 degrees with a low of -26 degrees.
Wednesday is predicted to look very similar to that day 25 years ago with a low of -27 and a high of -12 degrees according to the Weather Channel.
Students are encouraged to take precautions in the event classes are not cancelled. The wind chill is expected to dip below -40 degrees Wednesday. At that temperature, frostbite can occur within 10 minutes on exposed skin according to University Health Services.
UHS encourages students to take the bus instead of walking or biking during the extreme cold, however the university has not announced plans to increase the quantity of often-crowded on-campus bus services such as the 80 bus route as of yet this week.
The grounds department at UW works to ensure the 13 miles of road, 50 miles of sidewalk, over 100 parking spots and 90 bus stops on campus are cleared of snow. The department is additionally on call during heavy snowfall days, allowing UW-Madison community members with mobility impairments to request specific pedestrian pathways to be cleared.
University news and media director Meredith McGlone said campus leaders will be watching the forecast closely as the week continues in order to determine possible delays or closures.
