Students woke the morning of Thursday, Jan. 18 to another canceled school day. For the second day in a row, Western Washington University’s campus is shut down, due to continual snowfall and icy conditions on campus.
Heavy snowfall in the Bellingham area is rare, Cascadia Daily News said. Wednesday brought a possible record amount of snowfall for Bellingham.
Without the equipment needed to handle such conditions, Western shut down the campus.
“On-campus pathways are icy, and extreme care should be taken when traversing campus. Due to the danger of falling branches, avoid the Sehome Arboretum,” Western Alert said in an email released to all students early Thursday morning.
Without classes, club meetings or an open rec center, students are taking advantage of their unplanned free time. Students could be seen skiing or using cardboard to shoot down the small sloped streets near campus.
Only Western employees deemed as essential are instructed to report to their normal positions, according to the Western Alert email. Online-only classes will run as scheduled.
Continued snow and freezing rain are expected Thursday afternoon, though snow accumulation is unlikely Thursday night and Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
With forecasts predicting a let-up in snowfall, Western students and faculty could be back in classes Friday, possibly on a delayed schedule.
Jack Glenn (he/him) is a copy editor for The Front this quarter. He began working at the Front in the spring of 2022 as a sports reporter.
