WEATHER ALERT: Important change in University operating status for Monday, Oct. 29, and Tuesday, Oct. 30

The National Weather Service has now forecast that Hurricane Sandy’s path will head directly through Upstate New York, including Syracuse and Central New York. This includes some heavy rain and sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph, with possible gusts between 45 and 60 mph, beginning this afternoon and through tomorrow. In addition, Gov. Cuomo and other state and federal officials are recommending anyone in the path of the storm take precautions and avoid any unnecessary travel.

In an abundance of caution, and so that students, faculty and staff can remain indoors and avoid any unnecessary pedestrian and vehicle travel during this time, all Syracuse University classes starting after 1:40 p.m. or later today, Monday, Oct. 29, through Tuesday, Oct. 30, are cancelled. Classes are expected to resume on a normal schedule Wednesday, Oct. 31.  This cancellation includes all University College classes and all University campus events scheduled to take place during this time. In addition, any off-site classes scheduled in the Washington, D.C., and New York City metro areas during this time are cancelled.

All faculty and staff, except those employees who support our residential students, should leave work beginning at 1:30 p.m. today, and plan to return to work for normal hours Wednesday morning. All essential campus services, including food centers and Schine and Goldstein dining halls, public safety, and health services will remain operational and open for normal hours. The E.S. Bird Library will close at 1:30 p.m. While unnecessary travel is to be avoided, buses will be running according to schedule at this time.

Should there be a loss of power, an Orange Alert will be issued, informing students and campus community members of what to do. Please be sure your Orange Alert settings are current and your mobile phones are fully charged. To check your Orange Alert settings, visit https://myslice.syr.edu.

Again, given the strong winds and rain that are expected, the University strongly encourages all students, both on and off campus, and all campus community members to remain indoors and avoid any unnecessary travel. Additional information on the University’s operating status will be communicated via the SU website http://syr.edu, and campus e-mail.