Campus Alert Archive
UVM

Vermont's Flagship Shut Down for Two Days as Irene Drowned the State

VThurricaneemergency notificationmedium confidence

As Hurricane Irene weakened to a tropical storm and delivered historic, deadly flooding across Vermont on August 28, 2011, the University of Vermont closed its Burlington campus. The university announced it would close effective 8 a.m. Sunday, August 28, and remain closed until 7 a.m. Tuesday, August 30, 2011. The closure landed in the first days of the academic year, complicating move-in and the start of classes.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
University of Vermont
Public R1 · VT
~12,000 studentsUVM Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction379 chars
UVM is closing due to Hurricane Irene. The University will close effective 8 a.m. Sunday, August 28, and will remain closed until 7 a.m. Tuesday, August 30. Only designated essential personnel should report. Students should remain indoors, stay away from flooded areas and downed lines, and monitor UVM email and the emergency website for updates on services and operating hours.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The closure window — 8 a.m. Sunday, August 28 to 7 a.m. Tuesday, August 30, 2011 — is confirmed verbatim from UVM's official news announcement; the surrounding alert phrasing is reconstructed.
Irene arrived in Vermont as a tropical storm but produced catastrophic inland flooding, which is why the university extended the closure through Monday rather than reopening immediately after the wind threat passed.
The timing collided with the start of the academic year, an unusually disruptive window for a campus to go dark for two days.
ALL CLEAREmail+2d
Approximate reconstruction264 chars
UVM will reopen at 7 a.m. Tuesday, August 30. Normal operations and class schedules resume at that time. Some roads in the region remain flooded or closed; allow extra travel time and avoid washed-out areas. Thank you for your patience during Tropical Storm Irene.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed wording consistent with the confirmed 7 a.m. Tuesday, August 30 reopening time.
Framed as an all-clear because it lifts the closure and restores normal operations, while still flagging regional road hazards.
Many Vermont communities outside Burlington were far harder hit; UVM later coordinated volunteer recovery efforts for flood-damaged towns.
Context

Background

Tropical Storm Irene was one of the worst natural disasters in modern Vermont history, bringing more than seven inches of rain in places and producing widespread, deadly flooding on August 28, 2011. The University of Vermont, the state's flagship in Burlington, closed from 8 a.m. Sunday, August 28 until 7 a.m. Tuesday, August 30 — a two-day shutdown at the very start of the academic year. While Burlington escaped the worst, much of the state was devastated, and UVM later hired a recovery coordinator to manage volunteers helping flood-stricken communities. New England weather emergencies are underrepresented in campus-alert archives, and this case shows a flagship using its notification system to order a precautionary, multi-day closure tied to inland flooding rather than coastal wind — the defining hazard of Irene's Vermont landfall.
Analysis

Key Findings

UVM closed from 8 a.m. Sunday, August 28 to 7 a.m. Tuesday, August 30, 2011 due to Tropical Storm Irene
Irene's primary Vermont hazard was catastrophic inland flooding, not coastal wind, prompting an extended rather than brief closure
The shutdown fell at the start of the academic year, an especially disruptive window for move-in and the first days of classes
UVM later organized volunteer recovery efforts for harder-hit Vermont communities, extending the emergency response beyond campus
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    UVM Closing Due to Hurricane Irene; Services and Operating Hours Information Updated - University of Vermont
    uvm.edu
  2. Official
    Recovering from Tropical Storm Irene - University of Vermont State Climate Office
    uvm.edu
  3. News
    Five Years After Hurricane Irene, Vermont Still Striving for Resilience - Inside Climate News
    insideclimatenews.org
Tags
hurricanetropical-stormfloodingvermontcampus-closureirene2011severe-weather
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion