Winter Storm Nemo caused the cancellation of classes last Friday starting at 2:30 pm and all Saturday, while dropping nine inches of snow on the West Long Branch area and accumulations over two feet in parts of Connecticut.
President Paul G. Gaffney II explained that on Thursday at noon when he stood in front of 300 faculty members and said that the storm was supposed to be light, only a couple of inches. He assured everyone that no one was going to go home early and in response received a big sigh from the staff.
However, the University did wind up closing. Gaffney, who once was a meteorologist and oceanographer, stated that he was constantly watching the weather forecast and noticed they were changing as it was getting close to the day of the storm. “That got my attention because they had been saying for two days one to three [inches] and all of a sudden now it’s three to six [inches],” he said.
This was when he called the other Vice Presidents and told them that they all needed to keep an eye on Winter Storm Nemo overnight.
Bill McElrath, Chief of Police, stated that during storms, there is a “Storm Watch” policy that they follow. He said, “The purpose of the policy is to make sure that all major parts of the University (the Provost Office, Student Services, Facilities Management and the police) are all aware of the storm and are working together to prepare for the storm.”
At about 6:30 am on Friday morning, Gaffney spoke to the Vice Presidents again and this was when the decision was made to close the school at 2:30 pm. “We didn’t think that there’d be any snow until dark but we wanted to make sure that all of the students and all of the employees got home before the weather got bad,” he said.
the storm happened over the weekend, students and faculty might be driving far. “You have to think about more than the two-mile square area, you’ve got to think about maybe 10 or 15 miles on each side,” he said.
McElrath expressed the same confusion as Gaffney regarding the weather forecasts. “The biggest concern with this storm was getting accurate information on how big of a storm it would be and what kind of impact it would have,” McElrath said. “There was such a large discrepancy in forecasts that it was tough to make plans.”
Kyle Hasslinger, a junior political science major said, “I think the [MUPD] handled the storm fine. I didn’t hear about any accidents or incidents.”
There are three things the University does after a winter storm, said Gaffney. First, the paths from the residential side of campus to the Dining Hall are cleared for students living in the dorms. Second, the other pathways and roads around campus are cleared for emergency vehicles such as fire trucks, ambulances or MUPD. Lastly, the parking lots are cleared so classes can begin again.
“We have just enough parking places for everybody,” Gaffney said. “You’ve got to think about the guys that come in here in the middle of the night with the snowplows and try and get that parking lot cleared [in] time for your 8:30 am class.”
When Gaffney was asked if the school was taking more precautions for inclement weather after Hurricane Sandy, he said no. “One of the burdens the University and the vice presidents have to deal with is that the president is a former meteorologist,” Gaffney said with a smirk.
Gaffney continued by saying because of his knowledge in meteorology, he watches the weather throughout the day. “It’s very complicated here because we’re so close to the ocean, that just little bits of movement of storm system can either make it very hot here or very cold [temperature wise]. So you have to watch it very carefully,” he said.
Because of Nemo and Hurricane Sandy, the University has just made the federal requirement amount of days for classes. Gaffney explained that the missing class time would be up to each individual professor on how he/she will make up the lost time. Gaffney said, “Missing one day, is not a big [issue]. If we did this five more times in February and March, then start to be worried.”
McElrath felt that the University was prepared for Winter Storm Nemo and responded to it well. “There were not unusual occurrences as a result of the storm. It was actually a fairly quiet weekend.”
Additional reporting done by Angela Ciroala.
PHOTO COURTESY of Rachel Fox
PHOTO COURTESY of Gidget Zidik
