{
  "id": "2021-02-12-rice-university-winter-storm-uri",
  "slug": "rice-university-winter-storm-uri-2021-02-12",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Rice University",
    "shortName": "Rice",
    "state": "TX",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "RiceAlert",
    "enrollment": 7900
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2021-02-12",
    "endDate": "2021-02-22",
    "type": "winter-storm",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Off-campus apartments lose power and water for days as the main campus grid holds",
    "headlinePublic": "Off-campus apartments lose power and water for days as the main campus grid holds",
    "summary": "[Winter Storm Uri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis) crippled the Texas power grid in mid-February 2021. Rice University -- a [hedged-in private campus in central Houston](https://emergency.rice.edu/news/feb-17-winter-storm-update-rice-university-suspending-normal-operations-and-classes-both) -- suspended normal operations for two days, conducted remote classes, experienced [burst pipes and water damage in some buildings](https://news2.rice.edu/2021/02/22/leebron-addresses-rice-community-following-historic-storm/), and had off-campus Rice Village Apartments and Graduate Apartments lose both power and water for days.",
    "outcome": "Operations suspended February 18-19; classes shifted to remote on February 22 with only essential personnel on-site. Some campus buildings experienced burst pipes; Rice Village Apartments lost power and water for an extended period. President David Leebron addressed the community February 22. Rice's grid largely held but its off-campus housing did not. Statewide, Texas later put Uri's official death toll at 246 and economic damage as high as $295 billion.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2021-02-12T18:32:21-06:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "#RiceAlert: WINTER STORM ALERT\n\nA severe winter storm is forecast for the Houston area next week, with freezing temperatures for a prolonged period bringing the potential for snow, sleet and freezing rain. 1/4",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1360386292186558470",
      "sourceDescription": "@RiceAlert on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Thread part 1/4 of initial winter-storm alert from official Rice Emergency Management"
      ],
      "characterCount": 209
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2021-02-13T17:43:57-06:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "#RiceAlert -Winter Weather Alert Update 2/13/2021 \n\nThe National Weather Service expects the winter storm heading toward Houston to create what forecasters describe as “life-threatening impacts” beginning Sunday night and continuing into Tuesday.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1360736498472083467",
      "sourceDescription": "@RiceAlert on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Winter weather update 2/13; curly quotes preserved from fxtwitter display text"
      ],
      "characterCount": 246
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2021-02-14T11:32:34-06:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "#RiceAlert\nRice Shuttle Service CLOSED\nRice shuttle service will not be available beginning today, Sunday, Feb. 14, through Tuesday, Feb. 16 due to weather conditions.  \n\nAn update will be provided by the Crisis Management Team on Monday (Feb. 15).\n\n https://emergency.rice.edu/",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1361005425144061955",
      "sourceDescription": "@RiceAlert on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Shuttle closure; trailing nbsp/spaces preserved as returned by fxtwitter"
      ],
      "characterCount": 278
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2021-02-15T07:47:08-06:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "#RiceAlert - CLASSES CANCELLED TODAY 2/15 \n\nDue to power outages and rolling blackouts scheduled throughout the day, ALL Classes will be cancelled for today, 2/15/2021. No exams or assignments will be required to be turned in today.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1361311080379797507",
      "sourceDescription": "@RiceAlert on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Class cancellation for Feb 15 power outages / rolling blackouts"
      ],
      "characterCount": 232
    },
    {
      "sequence": 5,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2021-02-15T15:54:14-06:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "#RiceAlert - CLASSES CANCELLED 2/16 \n\nDue to severe uncertainty of the power and internet capabilities as a result of the winter storm, classes will be cancelled for Tuesday, February 16, 2021. No exams or assignments will be required to be uploaded or taken.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1361433663364362247",
      "sourceDescription": "@RiceAlert on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Class cancellation for Feb 16"
      ],
      "characterCount": 259
    },
    {
      "sequence": 6,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2021-02-17T18:14:43-06:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Rice University is suspending normal operations and classes both Thursday, 2/18 and Friday, 2/19. \n\nFor more information about campus operations (including classes and testing) please see the latest email from the Crisis Management Advisory Committee.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1362193793479548933",
      "sourceDescription": "@RiceAlert on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Two-day suspension of normal operations Feb 18-19"
      ],
      "characterCount": 251
    }
  ],
  "context": "[Winter Storm Uri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis) caused the most catastrophic failure of the Texas electric grid in modern history, leaving close to 4.5 million homes and businesses without power at peak. Texas later revised the [official storm death toll to 246](https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/02/texas-winter-storm-final-death-toll-246/), with economic toll estimated as high as $295 billion. Houston -- where Rice University sits inside its iconic hedged campus -- experienced sustained sub-freezing temperatures including a low of 13 degrees Fahrenheit on February 16. Rice's response was [coordinated by its Crisis Management Team](https://emergency.rice.edu/news/winter-storm-alert-feb-12-2021-crisis-management-team), activated five days before the storm peaked. According to a [Rice News retrospective](https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/february-freeze-analyzed-one-year-later) one year later, Rice did not lose power or water on the main campus, but some buildings experienced burst pipes and water damage. The off-campus Rice Village Apartments and Rice Graduate Apartments lost both power and water; problems were resolved in Graduate Apartments but persisted at Rice Village. The university announced on February 17 that it would suspend operations Thursday and Friday (February 18-19) and conducted remote classes from February 22. President David Leebron's [community address](https://news2.rice.edu/2021/02/22/leebron-addresses-rice-community-following-historic-storm/) the morning of February 22 acknowledged the unequal recovery and committed to a comprehensive review of winter preparedness. Statewide, the Texas Tribune reported that [university dormitories descended into chaos](https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/18/texas-universities-power-outages-dorms/) with dwindling food, flooded hallways, and non-functioning toilets.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Rice's main campus largely held grid integrity while off-campus housing failed -- illustrating the inequality of how a private university's central infrastructure investments can shield some students but not others",
    "The five-day pre-storm activation of Rice's Crisis Management Team (February 12) was earlier than most Texas universities and reflected the unusual storm forecast",
    "Burst pipes occurred even in well-prepared Houston facilities once temperatures rose -- a delayed-impact pattern that surprised university facilities teams across Texas",
    "President Leebron's February 22 address became one of the most-circulated post-Uri leadership communications and influenced peer universities' winter preparedness reviews"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": null,
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Feb. 17 - Winter Storm Update - Rice University is suspending normal operations -- Rice Emergency Management",
      "url": "https://emergency.rice.edu/news/feb-17-winter-storm-update-rice-university-suspending-normal-operations-and-classes-both",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Winter Storm Alert - Feb 12, 2021 Crisis Management Team -- Rice Emergency Management",
      "url": "https://emergency.rice.edu/news/winter-storm-alert-feb-12-2021-crisis-management-team",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Leebron addresses Rice community following historic storm -- Rice News",
      "url": "https://news2.rice.edu/2021/02/22/leebron-addresses-rice-community-following-historic-storm/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "February freeze analyzed one year later -- Rice News",
      "url": "https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/february-freeze-analyzed-one-year-later",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Dwindling food, flooded halls, unflushable toilets: Texas university dorms -- Texas Tribune",
      "url": "https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/18/texas-universities-power-outages-dorms/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "2021 Texas power crisis -- Wikipedia",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Texas winter storm official death toll now put at 246 -- Texas Tribune",
      "url": "https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/02/texas-winter-storm-final-death-toll-246/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "@RiceAlert WINTER STORM ALERT 1/4",
      "url": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1360386292186558470",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "title": "@RiceAlert Winter Weather Alert Update 2/13",
      "url": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1360736498472083467",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "title": "@RiceAlert Shuttle Service CLOSED",
      "url": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1361005425144061955",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "title": "@RiceAlert CLASSES CANCELLED 2/15",
      "url": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1361311080379797507",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "title": "@RiceAlert CLASSES CANCELLED 2/16",
      "url": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1361433663364362247",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "title": "@RiceAlert suspending operations 2/18-2/19",
      "url": "https://x.com/RiceAlert/status/1362193793479548933",
      "type": "official-social"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "winter-storm",
    "winter-storm-uri",
    "weather",
    "texas",
    "houston",
    "power-outage",
    "burst-pipes",
    "emergency-notification",
    "campus-closure",
    "infrastructure-failure"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-19",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}