{ "id": "2026-02-23-emerson-college-blizzard-closure", "slug": "emerson-college-blizzard-closure-2026-02-23", "institution": { "name": "Emerson College", "shortName": "Emerson", "state": "MA", "type": "private-masters", "alertSystemName": "Emerson Today", "enrollment": 5800 }, "incident": { "date": "2026-02-23", "type": "winter-storm", "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification", "resolution": "confirmed-threat", "headline": "A blizzard closes campus and keeps the next day remote", "headlinePublic": "A blizzard closes campus and keeps the next day remote", "summary": "Emerson College [closed the Boston campus for a day and then moved the next day's classes online](https://today.emerson.edu/2026/02/22/winter-storm-closure-schedule-changes-for-boston-campus-2/) for a blizzard.", "outcome": "The Boston campus was closed for the Monday of the blizzard. The next day, classes moved online and non-essential staff were asked to work remotely.", "endDate": "2026-02-24" }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "timestamp": "2026-02-22T16:03:04-05:00", "channel": "website", "verbatimText": "Dear Emersonians,\n\nAs you are aware, a potentially significant and disruptive blizzard is forecasted to impact the Boston area tonight (Sunday) and all day Monday, with predictions for heavy snowfall, dangerous conditions, extreme cold, and winds that may cause power outages.\n\nIn preparation for the storm, Governor Healy declared a State of Emergency and Mayor Wu declared a Snow Emergency beginning today and going through tomorrow, resulting in restrictions on travel and parking.\n\nOut of abundance of caution and to help protect our community, the Boston campus will be closed on Monday. All Boston classes, virtual meetings, rehearsals, and campus activities are cancelled for Monday. Staff and faculty are not expected to work, with the exception of essential employees and those staff whose managers have deemed emergency exceptions are necessary.\n\nWe are implementing several schedule changes for the Boston campus:\n\nMax Cafe will close at 9:00 pm on Sunday and will re-open on Monday with normal operating hours. The Dining Center will be open with normal operating hours on Sunday and, on Monday, it will open at 9:30 am for brunch and close at 9:00 pm.\nThe Iwasaki Library, the Fitness Center and the College bookstore will be closed on Monday.\n\nWe encourage everyone to stay safe and aware of updates from their local authorities. Essential roles and resources will still be available on campus including the Emerson College Police Department, Facilities, Campus Dining, and Housing and Residential Education.\n\nSafety tips and information about city resources are available at boston.gov. If you are off-campus and experience a storm-related emergency, call 3-1-1 or reference your city/town’s specific resources.\n\nPlease monitor conditions prior to traveling, and  take appropriate precautions if travel is absolutely necessary. You can find up to date information from the National Weather Service in Boston.\n\nPlease note that additional communications will be sent to faculty regarding rescheduling classes and/or alternative learning options, as neither in-person nor virtual classes can be held during a campus closure. This closure will not result in an extension of the semester calendar.\n\nAt this time, we plan to be open for normal operations on Tuesday. If anything changes, we will update our community accordingly. Updates will be communicated via email and posted to both the website and Emerson Today.\n\nThe College’s Emergency Closing and Delayed Opening policy can be found atwww.emerson.edu/policy/emergency-closing-delayed-opening.\n\nStay warm, be safe, and take care!", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "confidence": "high", "sourceUrl": "https://today.emerson.edu/2026/02/22/winter-storm-closure-schedule-changes-for-boston-campus-2/", "sourceDescription": "Emerson Today", "annotations": [ "Dual fetch 2026-10-12. The live today.emerson.edu URL returns the news index. Two Wayback id_ reads were byte-identical. 2597 characters. sha256 acd49bb83e0e0ba2c3448ad613fb3c92ad58e77306e9acbad41e6c559174ae13.", "Non-breaking spaces in the page are kept.", "Existing Wayback capture. SPN not attempted at 11:05Z" ], "characterCount": 2597 }, { "sequence": 2, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2026-02-23T18:03:20-05:00", "channel": "website", "verbatimText": "Dear Emersonians,\n\nThe blizzard that impacted the Boston area today continues to cause challenges for our communities, including our faculty, staff and students. We recognize some people are without power, many are waiting for streets to be plowed, and many K-12 school districts are closed again tomorrow. We encourage everyone to monitor conditions before traveling and to take appropriate precautions if travel is necessary. You can find up to date information from the National Weather Service in Boston.\n\nWe are moving all Boston classes online and asking that non-essential employees on the Boston campus work remotely on Tuesday, February 24, 2026. Only staff deemed absolutely essential by their managers, and who can get to campus safely, should report to work in person. Faculty will receive additional information from the Provost regarding moving classes online and alternative opportunities for learning.\n\nPersonal safety is our first priority. Employees who are unable to work due to unsafe travel conditions or other storm-related impacts should notify their supervisor. Managers are to work with their employees on appropriate arrangements, including remote work or use of PTO, as needed.\n\nOur decision to allow classes to be held remotely reflects our effort to balance safety with academic continuity. Cancelling classes and extending the academic calendar has meaningful implications for students, faculty, staff, and families, including previously scheduled academic milestones, events, and travel plans.\n\nPlease note that we are continuing to monitor the storm and directives from the state and the City of Boston. Should our plans change, we will update you accordingly. Updates will be sent via email and posted to both the website and Emerson Today.\n\nWe are implementing several schedule changes for the Boston campus tomorrow. As of now:\n\nAll Boston classes on Tuesday will be held online, wherever possible.\nNon-essential Boston employees should work remotely on Tuesday, if feasible. If your manager asks you to come in and you are unable to report to campus due to a safety issue or a power outage, please discuss with your supervisor and make arrangements to take appropriate time off.\nThe Dining Center and Max Cafe will be open Tuesday for normal hours. Dining Center (7:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.), Max Cafe (11:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m.). Other dining options will not be available.\nIn-person, evening activities and events on Tuesday may be allowed, assuming travel restrictions have been lifted. If you are running an evening activity or event, please confirm with the Vice President in your area.\nThe Iwasaki Library will be closed, but librarians will be available remotely between 10:00am and 6:00pm.\nThe Fitness Center and College bookstore will be closed Tuesday.\n\nAs of right now, we plan to be open for normal operations on Wednesday in Boston.\n\nSafety tips and information about city resources are available at boston.gov. If you are off-campus and experience a storm-related emergency, call 3-1-1 or reference your city/town’s specific resources.\n\nThe College’s Emergency Closing and Delayed Opening policy can be found at www.emerson.edu/policy/emergency-closing-delayed-opening.\n\nThank you for your patience and understanding as we ensure the safety of our collective community.\n\nStay warm and be safe!", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "confidence": "high", "sourceUrl": "https://today.emerson.edu/2026/02/23/winter-storm-schedule-changes-for-boston-campus-for-tuesday-february-24-2026/", "sourceDescription": "Emerson Today", "annotations": [ "Dual fetch 2026-10-12. The live today.emerson.edu URL returns the news index. Two Wayback id_ reads were byte-identical. 3335 characters. sha256 9324b97fa4f4ff213041eec21f43c1214057c2671a48230543340f612bd5afb3.", "Non-breaking spaces in the page are kept.", "Existing Wayback capture. SPN not attempted at 11:05Z" ], "characterCount": 3335 } ], "context": "Two Emerson Today letters for one blizzard. The first, posted 2026-02-22T16:03:04-05:00, closes the Boston campus the next day. The second, posted 2026-02-23T18:03:20-05:00, moves the following day online. The live host now returns the news index. Each letter is locked from two identical Wayback reads.", "keyFindings": [ "The Boston campus was closed, including classes and campus activities.", "The next day moved Boston classes online and asked non-essential staff to work remotely." ], "sources": [ { "title": "Emerson Today", "url": "https://today.emerson.edu/2026/02/22/winter-storm-closure-schedule-changes-for-boston-campus-2/", "type": "official-archive", "accessDate": "2026-10-12", "archiveUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260223053128id_/https://today.emerson.edu/2026/02/22/winter-storm-closure-schedule-changes-for-boston-campus-2/", "archiveNotes": "Existing Wayback capture. SPN not attempted at 11:05Z" }, { "title": "Emerson Today", "url": "https://today.emerson.edu/2026/02/23/winter-storm-schedule-changes-for-boston-campus-for-tuesday-february-24-2026/", "type": "official-archive", "accessDate": "2026-10-12", "archiveUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260225200321id_/https://today.emerson.edu/2026/02/23/winter-storm-schedule-changes-for-boston-campus-for-tuesday-february-24-2026/", "archiveNotes": "Existing Wayback capture. SPN not attempted at 11:05Z" } ], "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "private-masters", "massachusetts", "winter-storm" ], "dateAdded": "2026-10-12", "lastUpdated": "2026-10-12", "addedBy": "ingestion" }