{ "id": "2025-01-21-tulane-university-winter-storm-enzo", "slug": "tulane-university-winter-storm-enzo-2025-01-21", "institution": { "name": "Tulane University", "shortName": "Tulane", "state": "LA", "type": "private-r1", "alertSystemName": "TU Alerts", "enrollment": 14000 }, "incident": { "date": "2025-01-21", "endDate": "2025-01-22", "type": "winter-storm", "cleryCategory": "advisory", "resolution": "confirmed-threat", "headline": "Rare blizzard with about 10 inches of snow closed campus; operations moved to remote", "headlinePublic": "Rare blizzard with about 10 inches of snow closed campus; operations moved to remote", "summary": "On [January 17, 2025](https://x.com/Tulane/status/1880432067005087974), Tulane University announced that it would shift to remote operations and physically close on Tuesday, January 21, 2025 due to the [historic Gulf Coast blizzard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Gulf_Coast_blizzard) (informally Winter Storm Enzo). New Orleans recorded approximately 10 inches of snowfall (among the highest totals in city history) and conditions were severe enough that Tulane [extended remote operations into Wednesday](https://medicine.tulane.edu/news/frostbite-blizzard-babies-tulane-medicine-teams-winter-storm), January 22. Classes transitioned to an online format and only essential personnel reported to campus.", "outcome": "No injuries occurred at Tulane. The university shifted to remote operations and was physically closed on Tuesday, January 21 and Wednesday, January 22, 2025. Classes were moved to an online format. Essential personnel including hospital and clinic staff, security, vivarium technicians, and pharmacy employees reported as scheduled. Tulane Medical Center reported successfully delivering 'blizzard babies' during the storm. The 2025 Gulf Coast blizzard caused at least 5 deaths regionally and brought the lowest temperatures recorded in southern Louisiana in 95 years." }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "update", "timestampApprox": "Tuesday afternoon, January 21, 2025 CST", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "Dear Tulane Community,\n\nWe continue to closely monitor the impacts of the winter weather in our region.\n\nDue to the expected continual impacts of this weather and deteriorated road conditions, the university will continue operating remotely and will remain physically closed on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, except for essential personnel. This decision was made considering the effects of snow and ice on the greater New Orleans area and the continued closure of schools and other services in the region.\n\nEmployees within the School of Medicine and the Tulane National Primate Research Center will receive direct communication from their leadership regarding any changes to their operations.\n\nThe university plans to resume on-site classes, work, and normal operations on Thursday, Jan. 23.\n\nAcademic schedule\n\nClasses scheduled for Wednesday should proceed in an online format. Faculty are encouraged to hold classes at their regularly scheduled times online, if possible. If conducting an online class is not feasible, alternative arrangements should be made to recover the lost class time. One available option is to use the Spring 2025 Designated Make-up Day Two, scheduled for Sunday, March 16. This would allow faculty to hold Wednesday’s classes at their regular times and campus locations on that day. Faculty should communicate their plans for Wednesday’s classes with their students as soon as possible.\n\nEssential employees\n\nEssential personnel, including employees providing patient care in clinics or hospitals, engineers managing buildings, security personnel, vivarium staff managing animals, technicians performing experiments, pharmacy employees, occupational medicine, and other staff will be required to report to campus as scheduled while non-essential staff should work remotely. Please coordinate with your managers directly.\n\nAdditional details\n\nFor information on dining services available today and tomorrow, please visit the Tulane Hospitality website. The Howard-Tilton Memorial Library is closed today but will open in limited capacity tomorrow.\n\nAdditionally, please refer to the university’s previous communications regarding weather impacts, preparations, and operational adjustments. Please continue to monitor your email for any updates from the Office of Emergency Preparedness & Response.\n\nThank you for your patience as we navigate the challenges of this winter storm.\n\nSincerely,\n\nMichael A. Fitts, President\nRobin Forman, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost\nPatrick Norton, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceDescription": "Tulane Emergency Communications Archive (Jan 21, 2025 operations update)", "annotations": [ "The phrase 'continue to maintain remote operations' signals a closure extension rather than a fresh new closure, a subtle but important framing that helps the community understand the storm's prolonged impact", "Tulane Medical Center reported delivering at least three 'blizzard babies' during the closure, illustrating that for academic medical centers, 'closure' never includes essential clinical operations" ], "characterCount": 2578, "sourceUrl": "https://tulane.edu/emergency/communications-archive" }, { "sequence": 2, "type": "initial", "timestamp": "2025-01-17T19:48:36-06:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "Due to forecasted winter weather, Tulane will shift to remote operations and will be physically closed on Tuesday, Jan. 21, except for essential personnel. Classes scheduled for Tuesday will transition to an online format.\n\nRead the full announcement: http://tulane.edu/emergency", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/Tulane/status/1880432067005087974", "sourceDescription": "@Tulane on X (verbatim)", "annotations": [ "The post was published on the official @Tulane Twitter/X account at 7:48 PM CST on January 17, 2025 (time decoded from the X status ID), a pre-storm advisory issued ahead of Winter Storm Enzo's arrival on January 21, 2025", "The phrasing 'shift to remote operations and will be physically closed' is a hedged form of 'closure' that allows continuity of academic and research activities while clearing campus of non-essential personnel", "The reference to 'essential personnel' as an exception encompasses Tulane's medical center staff, clinic providers, and research-vivarium operations; Tulane has both an academic and a major medical complex", "Corrected to exact fxtwitter display text.", "Verified complete alert text on https://x.com/Tulane/status/1880432067005087974; archiveUrl null." ], "characterCount": 279, "confidence": "high", "archiveUrl": null, "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18" }, { "sequence": 3, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-01-21T11:45:33-06:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "Tulane will continue to maintain remote operations and will be physically closed on Wednesday, Jan. 22, except for essential personnel. Classes scheduled for Wednesday will transition to an online format.\n\nPlease read the full announcement here: http://tulane.edu/emergency", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/Tulane/status/1881760057194414439", "sourceDescription": "@Tulane on X (verbatim)", "annotations": [ "Verified complete alert text on https://x.com/Tulane/status/1881760057194414439; archiveUrl null.", "Official same-day cascade from @Tulane." ], "characterCount": 273, "archiveUrl": null, "confidence": "high", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18" }, { "sequence": 4, "type": "initial", "timestamp": "2025-01-22T10:57:03-06:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "Sidewalks, streets, exterior stairs, and other outdoor surfaces are icy. Tulanians: please take extra care as you move around campus.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/Tulane/status/1882110237366161463", "sourceDescription": "@Tulane on X (verbatim)", "annotations": [ "Verified complete alert text on https://x.com/Tulane/status/1882110237366161463; archiveUrl null.", "Official same-day cascade from @Tulane." ], "characterCount": 133, "archiveUrl": null, "confidence": "high", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18" }, { "sequence": 5, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-01-22T14:29:54-06:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "Tulane will continue to maintain remote operations and will be physically closed on Thursday, Jan. 23, except for essential personnel. Classes scheduled for Thursday will transition to an online format.\n\nPlease read the full announcement here: https://tulane.edu/emergency", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/Tulane/status/1882163802495463827", "sourceDescription": "@Tulane on X (verbatim)", "annotations": [ "Verified complete alert text on https://x.com/Tulane/status/1882163802495463827; archiveUrl null.", "Official same-day cascade from @Tulane." ], "characterCount": 272, "archiveUrl": null, "confidence": "high", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18" }, { "sequence": 6, "type": "initial", "timestamp": "2025-01-22T14:51:59-06:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "TU Alert: Please do not cross any caution tape on campus. Be aware of melting snow and ice falling off buildings and trees as it has the potential to cause injury. Stay cautious while walking across campus. Your safety is important.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/Tulane/status/1882169361680757026", "sourceDescription": "@Tulane on X (verbatim)", "annotations": [ "Verified complete alert text on https://x.com/Tulane/status/1882169361680757026; archiveUrl null.", "Official same-day cascade from @Tulane." ], "characterCount": 232, "archiveUrl": null, "confidence": "high", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18" } ], "context": "Tulane University is a [private R1 doctoral institution](https://tulane.edu/) in New Orleans, Louisiana, with about 14,000 students and a large academic medical center. Winter Storm Enzo (officially the [2025 Gulf Coast blizzard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Gulf_Coast_blizzard)) was a rare and unusually strong winter storm that brought blizzard conditions to the U.S. Gulf Coast between January 20 and 22, 2025, a region that almost never sees significant snowfall. New Orleans recorded approximately 10 inches of snow, among the highest totals in city history, and Baton Rouge recorded a temperature of 7 degrees Fahrenheit, the lowest measured there in 95 years. On the evening of January 17, 2025, Tulane [announced via its official X account](https://x.com/Tulane/status/1880432067005087974) that it would [shift to remote operations and physically close on Tuesday, January 21, except for essential personnel](https://m.facebook.com/TulaneU/photos/due-to-forecasted-winter-weather-tulane-will-shift-to-remote-operations-and-will/1009300551239591/). Classes transitioned to an online format. Tulane [extended the closure into Wednesday, January 22](https://www.instagram.com/p/DFJDCD8J1qJ/) as conditions persisted. The Tulane School of Medicine reported that [only essential personnel were required to report](https://medicine.tulane.edu/school-medicine-winter-weather-updates) to provide patient care, manage labs and animal facilities, and maintain critical research. Tulane Medical Center successfully [delivered 'blizzard babies' during the storm](https://medicine.tulane.edu/news/frostbite-blizzard-babies-tulane-medicine-teams-winter-storm), illustrating the academic medical center's distinctive operational continuity even during severe-weather closures. Roads in Baton Rouge (home to LSU) remained closed Wednesday and Thursday, and LSU also canceled classes. Winter Storm Enzo killed at least five people regionally.", "keyFindings": [ "Tulane's advance notice of more than three days (issued the evening of Jan. 17 for a Jan. 21 closure) is unusually long for a university weather closure announcement and reflects the rarity and forecast confidence for the Gulf Coast blizzard", "The shift to 'remote operations' rather than full closure preserves academic continuity while clearing non-essential staff, a model that became more common after COVID-19 normalized synchronous online instruction", "Tulane's academic medical center never fully closes; the 'essential personnel' designation specifically protected clinical operations during blizzard conditions previously unprecedented in southern Louisiana", "The 2025 Gulf Coast blizzard was an unusual test for southern-state campus emergency planning: institutions like Tulane and LSU rarely face winter storms severe enough to require multi-day closures and had to adapt rapidly" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Tulane on X: Winter weather closure announcement", "url": "https://x.com/Tulane/status/1880432067005087974", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "From frostbite to blizzard babies: Tulane Medicine teams winter the storm (Tulane Medicine)", "url": "https://medicine.tulane.edu/news/frostbite-blizzard-babies-tulane-medicine-teams-winter-storm", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "School of Medicine Winter Weather Updates (Tulane Medicine)", "url": "https://medicine.tulane.edu/school-medicine-winter-weather-updates", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "2025 Gulf Coast blizzard (Wikipedia)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Gulf_Coast_blizzard", "type": "other" }, { "title": "Rare winter storm brings heavy snow, sleet and ice to South Louisiana (WWNO)", "url": "https://www.wwno.org/local-regional-news/2025-01-21/rare-winter-storm-brings-heavy-snow-sleet-and-ice-to-south-louisiana", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Emergency Information (Tulane)", "url": "https://tulane.edu/emergency", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Tulane on Instagram: continued remote operations notice", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DFJDCD8J1qJ/", "type": "official-social" }, { "url": "https://tulane.edu/emergency/communications-archive", "type": "official", "title": "Tulane Emergency Communications Archive (Jan 21, 2025 operations update)" }, { "type": "official-social", "title": "@Tulane X cascade 1881760057194414439", "url": "https://x.com/Tulane/status/1881760057194414439", "accessedDate": "2026-07-18" }, { "type": "official-social", "title": "@Tulane X cascade 1882110237366161463", "url": "https://x.com/Tulane/status/1882110237366161463", "accessedDate": "2026-07-18" }, { "type": "official-social", "title": "@Tulane X cascade 1882163802495463827", "url": "https://x.com/Tulane/status/1882163802495463827", "accessedDate": "2026-07-18" }, { "type": "official-social", "title": "@Tulane X cascade 1882169361680757026", "url": "https://x.com/Tulane/status/1882169361680757026", "accessedDate": "2026-07-18" } ], "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "winter-storm", "blizzard", "louisiana", "private-r1", "tulane", "remote-operations", "gulf-coast-blizzard", "verbatim", "winter-storm-enzo" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-03", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18", "addedBy": "ingestion" }