Love them or hate them, we can count on at least a couple of storms this winter. When the snow starts piling up and driving becomes treacherous, one of the first things that students, staff and faculty start to wonder is whether the university will declare a snow emergency and cancel classes.
Two years ago, St. Thomas added an easy-to-remember phone number to the various methods it uses to announce snow-emergency information. Students, staff and faculty members can dial (651) 962-SNOW (on campus, dial 2-SNOW) to find out if the university will close due to severe winter-weather conditions. (If your phone doesn’t have letters on the number keys, the SNOW number is {651} 962-7669.)
The decision to close the university will be made by 6 a.m., if at all possible. When the university is officially closed, all classes are canceled and all administrative offices are closed for the day.
If weather improves during the day … or gets worse
On occasion, the inclement weather subsides as the day progresses. On these occasions, a decision to reopen the university for evening classes and other activities will be made by 3 p.m. In cases where the university is open during the day, but worsening conditions warrant the cancellation of evening classes and activities, that decision also will be announced by 3 p.m.
Radio and television announcements
It's "sno-go" for bicylces after a snowstorm.
As it has done for generations of snow shovelers, St. Thomas will continue to use WCCO Radio (AM 830) as the official closing-notification station. Students, staff and faculty will know what decision has been made if they listen to WCCO. The station updates closing information between 6 and 8 a.m.
WCCO also has snow emergency information at this Web site.
In addition to WCCO radio, the university also alerts two local television stations, KARE and KSTP.
Who needs to come in; who can stay home
All employees, except the “emergency-essential employees” listed below, are excused from work without change in compensation for the day of closing. These essential employees are required to report to work as scheduled and are compensated according to the university’s Inclement Weather Closing Policy. Union employees will be paid according to their labor contract. Emergency-essential employees are Public Safety officers, IRT server administrators, Food Service workers, certain staff members from the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center and Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library, and certain Physical Plant employees, such as managers, building service workers, grounds workers, shift supervisors and managers, maintenance mechanics and electricians.
In addition to the SNOW phone and radio …
The university will use several additional methods to announce the cancellation of classes, or the reopening of evening classes if weather permits:
Telephone
In addition to the message available at (651) 962-SNOW, a recorded announcement will be sent to all voice mailboxes on campus.
Students who live on campus can hear the message by accessing their voice messages.
Faculty and staff can access the message on their campus voice mailboxes by using two methods. Instructions for accessing voice mailboxes have changed from previous years and are printed here as a reminder. If school is closed for the day, faculty and staff are encouraged to leave that information on their personal voice greetings.
Here’s how to access your St. Thomas voice mailbox from off campus:
Option 1 (This is the preferred method; note that in most cases the box number is the same as your five-digit campus extension.)
Dial (651) 962-7777. When the system answers, enter your five-digit voice mailbox number. You then will be prompted to enter your passcode. Upon doing so, you will have accessed your voice mailbox.
Winter scenes can be pretty as a picture, but will the university be closed?
Option 2 (This works well for multiple-box environments, where you share a phone with others.)
Dial your St. Thomas phone number. If you are in a multiple-box environment, press 1 or 2. Press the star key (*). You then will be prompted to enter your passcode. Upon doing so, you will have accessed your voice mailbox.
Please note that if school does close and a voice message is sent to all St. Thomas voice mailboxes, you will NOT have a light indicator of a new message.
Bulletin Update and Bulletin Today
Announcements of school cancellations or reopenings will be sent to all St. Thomas e-mail accounts. The announcement will be added to that day’s Bulletin Today, and will be sent separately as a Bulletin Update.
The announcements made by e-mail will be made as soon as possible, but will not be available as early in the morning as the phone messages. The e-mail announcements will be especially useful for evening-class students who are wondering in the afternoon if they need to drive to class that night.
About the libraries
When St. Thomas is officially closed due to inclement weather the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center will attempt to open with a limited staff from noon to 4 p.m. The hours will be extended if library staff members can make it to campus. Other St. Thomas libraries likely will be closed. All emergency library announcements regarding opening and closing schedules will be posted at the top of the library homepage.
Phone numbers for individual libraries are on the libraries’ Inclement Weather Web page.
St. Paul and Minneapolis snow emergency information
To find out if a municipal snow emergency has been declared, check this site for St. Paul, or check this site for Minneapolis.
These sites have detailed information about where and when to park during snow emergencies, and how to recover an impounded car.
A word about St. Paul’s e-mail warning system
By going to the city of St. Paul’s snow emergency e-mail notification Web site, you can sign up to be notified by e-mail when the city has declared a snow emergency.
St. Thomas students, staff and faculty interested in the city’s e-mail notification are encouraged to sign up for that service using their St. Thomas e-mail address and/or their personal (non-St. Thomas) e-mail address.
A place to stay on campus in case you are snowbound
If you are a commuter student and are snowbound on campus or feel it is unsafe to travel home due to weather conditions, the university, through the Dean of Students Office, will provide overnight accommodations.
Students who would like to take advantage of this offer should go to the Residence Life Office, Room 106 of Koch Commons, during business hours, or the Public Safety Office in Morrison Hall after business hours.
The per-night cost for a room on campus will be $15 or $45, depending on available space. The less-expensive option will be used first.
Student taking advantage of this offer also must tell Public Safety if their cars will need to be in a university lot overnight.
In cases of financial hardship, the Dean of Students Office will cover the cost of the emergency accommodations.
Parking on campus during snow emergencies
During a snow emergency, normal parking restrictions on campus still apply. Students and employees still are required to have a permit to park on campus; this necessary procedure allows for an orderly flow of the university’s internal snow removal.
In some cases, a lot or location may be closed off due to snow removal. Bulletin Today will announce parking-related information as it becomes available.
Resident students with permits also should make sure to check for lot-closing postings during heavy snowfalls in the event it is necessary to close resident lots for plowing. This also will be announced in Bulletin Today.
The (off campus) 48-hour rule
Keep in mind that the city of St. Paul’s snow-emergency rules do not impact the existing rule that cars must be moved every 48 hours if parked on a residential street. Vehicles still must be moved regularly.
As noted in the university’s St. Paul Parking Guide: “Even in areas where no permit is required, there is a 48-hour limit for parking a vehicle in the same location on city streets.”
Where to find this message when the snow starts falling
This is a lot of information to remember. Bulletin Today will keep a link to this story on its home page throughout the winter. The link will be located at the bottom of the column on the right-hand side of the page.