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Penn will suspend operations on Tuesday due to impending snowstorm







Penn has suspended operations on Tuesday due to the snowstorm expected to hit the region this evening, according to an alert sent to students just before 10:30 p.m. on Monday.

Philadelphia had declared a snow emergency starting tonight at 9 p.m.

Despite classes being cancelled, some professors are still teaching outside of the classroom.

College senior Ana Ang received an email from English professor Christine Woody, who teaches a course titled "The Bronte Sisters," before the snow day was announced.

“She’s going to post a handful of discussion questions when our class starts, and then we have until the class ends to do a response to count for participation,” Ang said.

And while many students are celebrating the cancellation of classes, the blizzard presents issues for students who are traveling.

Engineering freshman Alina Rashid was supposed to fly from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Philadelphia International Airport tomorrow, but her flight was cancelled due to the weather conditions.

Rashid now must fly into the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. She has a layover of approximately six hours before she flies back to Philadelphia International Airport.

“And I have an exam on Wednesday,” Rashid added. “It’s so inconvenient.”

College senior Caroline Wallace was home in Florida for spring break, and she said her flight back has been cancelled multiple times since it was originally scheduled to take off on Monday night. It's now scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Monday night, a National Weather Service report estimated there would be six to 10 inches of snow over Monday and Tuesday, causing power outages, reduced visibility and dangerous driving conditions. The snow could turn to sleet early Tuesday morning between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., the report said, and then change back to snow. The report added that the snow would likely dissipate by late Tuesday afternoon.

The blizzard has also led to the cancellation of several campus events that were set to happen on March 14.

The Kelly Writers House was set to host a conversation with screenwriter and 1985 College graduate Alec Sokolow, who worked on Toy Story and Cheaper by the Dozen. This event has been cancelled and has not yet been rescheduled.

Wharton junior Adrienne Zand said that the spin class she usually teaches Tuesday morning is cancelled at Pottruck. Her boss emailed her saying that they, "were being proactive and cancelling everything before lunch tomorrow.”

A lunchtime event with Lady Catherine Ashton at the Perry World House that was scheduled for March 14 has been cancelled as well and will be rescheduled later this week.

Schools in the School District of Philadelphia will be closed on Tuesday, March 14 because of the forecasted conditions, according to ABC News.

The city plans to prepare for the snow by salting all primary and secondary streets between 8 p.m. and midnight, suspending trash and recycling collection, ticketing and towing cars blocking snow emergency routes and enforcing a $50 code violation notice for Philadelphia residents who don't shovel their walkways.

The National Weather Service also issued a winter storm warning for the Philadelphia area from 8 p.m. on Monday night to 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

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The report estimated that there will be 6 to ten inches of snow over that period, causing power outages, reduced visibility and dangerous driving conditions. The snow may turn to sleet early Tuesday morning between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., the report said, and then change back to snow. The snow should dissipate by late Tuesday afternoon.

This is the second weather-related suspension in 2017. The other occurred Feb. 9, when classes before noon were cancelled.

This is a developing story. It was last updated March 13 at 11:55 p.m.

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