{ "id": "2021-02-15-university-of-houston-winter-storm-uri", "slug": "university-of-houston-winter-storm-uri-2021-02-15", "institution": { "name": "University of Houston", "shortName": "UH", "state": "TX", "type": "public-r1", "alertSystemName": "PIER Emergency Notifications", "alertPlatform": "Rave Mobile Safety", "enrollment": 47000 }, "incident": { "date": "2021-02-15", "endDate": "2021-02-20", "type": "winter-storm", "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification", "headline": "Campus closes for a week and a citywide boil-water notice follows a severe winter storm", "headlinePublic": "Campus closes for a week and a citywide boil-water notice follows a severe winter storm", "summary": "Beginning the morning of February 15, 2021, [Winter Storm Uri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_13%E2%80%9317,_2021_North_American_winter_storm) dropped Houston into a five-day freeze that knocked out power to [91 percent of Harris County residents](https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2021/april-2021/04082021-hobby-winter-hc.php) for an average of 49 hours. The [University of Houston closed its main and satellite campuses](https://www.uh.edu/hobby/winter2021/storm.pdf) through Saturday, February 20, suspended all in-person and online instruction, and warned residential students of the citywide [boil-water notice](https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/HSEM/2021-Winter-Storm-Uri-AAR-Findings-Report.pdf) that affected more than 13 million Texans. UH-affiliated MD Anderson and UTHealth campuses also paused operations including vaccination clinics.", "outcome": "The University of Houston extended closures three separate times before reopening on Monday, February 22, 2021. Statewide, [more than 240 deaths](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_13%E2%80%9317,_2021_North_American_winter_storm) were attributed to the storm. UH's Hobby School of Public Affairs subsequently authored the leading [academic assessment of the storm's impact](https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2021/march-2021/03292021-hobby-winter-storm.php). The storm exposed the inadequacy of Houston's water-treatment redundancy and the brittleness of the ERCOT power grid for higher-education operations.", "resolution": "confirmed-threat", "casualties": { "killed": 0, "injured": 0 } }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2021-02-12T17:19:00-06:00", "channel": "sms", "verbatimText": "UH is moving to remote operations Mon-Tue. See www.uh.edu/emergency ", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=817216312316818", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API textMessage)", "annotations": [ "Exact SMS textMessage from UH ALERT official API (startDate 2021-02-12 17:19:00); pre-closure remote-operations notice for Winter Storm Uri" ], "characterCount": 68 }, { "sequence": 2, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2021-02-12T17:19:00-06:00", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "UH Shifting to Remote Operations\n\nUniversity of Houston including UH at Sugar Land and Katy will operate on a fully remote schedule Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 15-16, 2021, due to forecast winter precipitation and hazardous travel conditions. Online classes will continue as scheduled and in-person classes will transition online at their regularly scheduled times. UH will continue to monitor forecasts and make adjustments should hazardous conditions extend beyond Tuesday. We hope you and your families remain safe during this time. Updates can be found at alerts.uh.edu", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=817216312316818", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API rftContent email body)", "annotations": [ "Exact rftContent from UH ALERT API (2021-02-12 17:19:00)", "PR7 correct: re-pointed sourceUrl from wrong 2022 id 2446967422587581 to matching Uri remote-ops email id 817216312316818; text aligned to API rftContent" ], "characterCount": 570 }, { "sequence": 3, "type": "initial", "timestamp": "2021-02-14T16:00:00-06:00", "timestampApprox": "Sunday afternoon, February 14, 2021 -- the day before the freeze peaked", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "", "isVerbatimConfirmed": false, "sourceUrl": null, "sourceDescription": "Demoted: no UH ALERT API record for claimed 2021-02-14 email; prior sourceUrl pointed at unrelated 2022-02-04 closure id 2446967422587581", "annotations": [] }, { "sequence": 4, "type": "initial", "timestamp": "2021-02-15T08:35:26-06:00", "channel": "sms", "verbatimText": "UH closed Monday & Tuesday, Feb. 15-16, 2021. All activities canceled. See www.uh.edu/emergency", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=816941434413865", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API textMessage)", "annotations": [ "Verbatim SMS textMessage from UH ALERT official API (alerts.uh.edu/api/v2/uh/all)", "API startDate 2021-02-15 08:35:26", "Verbatim SMS textMessage from UH ALERT official API (alerts.uh.edu/api/v2/uh/all); startDate 2021-02-15 08:35:26" ], "characterCount": 99 }, { "sequence": 5, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2021-02-15T08:35:26-06:00", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "UH Closed Monday-Tuesday, Feb. 15-16, 2021\n\nThe\nUniversity of Houston including UH at Sugar Land and Katy is closed through Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, due to power and operational outages associated with the winter storm. All classes and activities are canceled. We hope everyone is able to stay safe and warm. Updates will be posted at alerts.uh.edu.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=816941434413865", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API rftContent email body)", "annotations": [ "Exact rftContent from UH ALERT API (2021-02-15 08:35:26)", "PR7 correct: sourceUrl was wrong 2022 id; set to Feb 15 closure id 816941434413865 and exact rftContent" ], "characterCount": 348 }, { "sequence": 6, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2021-02-16T12:09:27-06:00", "channel": "sms", "verbatimText": "UH closed through Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. All activities canceled. See www.uh.edu/emergency", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=817353751274757", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API textMessage)", "annotations": [ "Verbatim SMS textMessage from UH ALERT official API (alerts.uh.edu/api/v2/uh/all)", "API startDate 2021-02-16 12:09:27" ], "characterCount": 92 }, { "sequence": 7, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2021-02-16T12:09:27-06:00", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "UH Closed through Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021\n\nThe\nUniversity of Houston including UH at Sugar Land and Katy is closed through Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, due to power and operational outages associated with the winter storm. All classes and activities are canceled. We hope everyone is able to stay safe and warm. Updates will be posted at uh.edu/emergency", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=817353751274757", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API rftContent email body)", "annotations": [ "Exact rftContent from UH ALERT API (2021-02-16 12:09:27)", "PR7 correct: sourceUrl was wrong 2022 id; set to id 817353751274757" ], "characterCount": 350 }, { "sequence": 8, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2021-02-17T10:45:48-06:00", "channel": "sms", "verbatimText": "The city of Houston is under Boil Water Notice. Tap water is unsafe to drink. UH remains closed through Thursday, Feb. 18. Visit www.uh.edu/emergency", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=823401065219017", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API textMessage)", "annotations": [ "Verbatim SMS textMessage from UH ALERT official API (alerts.uh.edu/api/v2/uh/all)", "API startDate 2021-02-17 10:45:48" ], "characterCount": 149 }, { "sequence": 9, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2021-02-17T10:45:48-06:00", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "City of Houston Issues Boil Water Notice\n\nA boil water notice is now in effect for the city of Houston until further notice. The UH central plant, which supplies steam to heat buildings and hot water throughout campus cannot operate within the low water pressure currently being experienced throughout Houston. The University is working to distribute essential accommodations to campus. Limited food service is being provided and we are working on deliveries of bottled water and portable toilets to campus.\n\nUnder the Boil Water Notice, tap water is unsafe to drink. Water for drinking, cooking and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for human consumption purposes.\n\nAll University classes and activities are cancelled through Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, including UH at Sugar Land and UH at Katy.\n\nOur Emergency Operations team and department liaisons are addressing issues as they arise, to the extent possible. We appreciate your patience as well get through this unprecedented winter weather situation together.\n\nThe University will provide updates on this developing situation at www.uh.edu/emergency.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=823401065219017", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API rftContent email body)", "annotations": [ "Exact rftContent from UH ALERT API (2021-02-17 10:45:48)" ], "characterCount": 1121 }, { "sequence": 10, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2021-02-17T18:14:41-06:00", "channel": "sms", "verbatimText": "UH closed through Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, due to power and water outages. All classes and activities are canceled. See www.uh.edu/emergency", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=823401065219672", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API textMessage)", "annotations": [ "Verbatim SMS textMessage from UH ALERT official API (alerts.uh.edu/api/v2/uh/all)", "API startDate 2021-02-17 18:14:41" ], "characterCount": 140 }, { "sequence": 11, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2021-02-17T18:14:41-06:00", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "University of Houston Remains Closed Through Saturday, Feb. 20\n\n All University classes and activities are canceled through Saturday, Feb.\n 20, including UH at Sugar Land and UH at Katy.\n\n A\n boil water notice is now in effect for the city of Houston until further notice. Under\n the Boil Water Notice, tap water is unsafe to drink.\n\n The UH central plant, which supplies steam to heat buildings and hot\n water throughout campus cannot operate within the low water pressure/water\n outage being experienced throughout Houston. The city has reported it\n expects water pressure to be restored as early as the end of the day or\n tomorrow. UH will restore central plant operations as soon as conditions\n allow.\n\n Limited food service is being provided to student residents and we are\n distributing bottled drinking water and portable toilets to campus as\n supplies becomes available.\n\n Our Emergency Operations Center and department liaisons are addressing\n issues as they arise, to the extent possible.\n\n The University will provide updates on this developing winter weather\n situation at\n www.uh.edu/emergency", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=823401065219672", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API rftContent email body)", "annotations": [ "Exact rftContent from UH ALERT API (2021-02-17 18:14:41)" ], "characterCount": 1189 }, { "sequence": 12, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2021-02-19T18:00:00-06:00", "timestampApprox": "Friday evening, February 19, 2021", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "", "isVerbatimConfirmed": false, "sourceUrl": null, "sourceDescription": "Demoted: no separate UH ALERT API send for claimed Feb 19; text was normalized re-use of Feb 17 Saturday-closure message id 823401065219672", "annotations": [] }, { "sequence": 13, "type": "all-clear", "timestamp": "2021-02-21T16:30:21-06:00", "channel": "sms", "verbatimText": " UH including UH Sugar Land and Katy reopens Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. See www.uh.edu/emergency", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=823401065224720", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API textMessage)", "annotations": [ "Verbatim SMS textMessage from UH ALERT official API (alerts.uh.edu/api/v2/uh/all)", "API startDate 2021-02-21 17:14:50", "PR7 correct: re-pointed from id 823401065224720 (16:30) to id 823675943133704 (17:14:50) matching case timestamp; SMS text identical except leading-space variant on earlier id", "PR7 correct: reopen SMS paired to id 823401065224720 (2021-02-21 16:30:21); 17:14 twin is near-duplicate SMS resend" ], "characterCount": 92 }, { "sequence": 14, "type": "all-clear", "timestamp": "2021-02-21T16:30:21-06:00", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "UH reopens Monday, Feb. 22, 2021\n\nThe University of Houston including UH at Sugar Land and Katy, will resume pre-winter storm operations Monday, February 22, 2021. At this time, only UH at Katy remains under a boiled water notice. Any updated information will be available at www.uh.edu/emergency", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=823401065224720", "sourceDescription": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API rftContent email body)", "annotations": [ "Sent Monday morning February 22, 2021 -- after the Sunday February 21 evening lifting of the City of Houston boil-water notice", "Eight calendar days after the initial closure began on February 15 -- among the longest weather-related closures in UH's history", "Hobby School subsequently published the most-cited academic study of Winter Storm Uri's impact on Texans, using survey data collected from February 22 through early March 2021", "Houston's water system would take additional weeks to fully recover; some buildings had pressure issues into March", "Verbatim from UH ALERT official API: email body reopen Feb 22", "PR7 correct: sourceUrl was wrong 2022 id; set to reopen email id 823401065224720 (2021-02-21 16:30:21) matching Katy boiled-water footer" ], "characterCount": 296 } ], "context": "On February 14, 2021, with [Winter Storm Uri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_13%E2%80%9317,_2021_North_American_winter_storm) forecast to bring an Arctic outbreak unseen in Houston since 1989, the [University of Houston announced initial closures](https://www.uh.edu/hobby/winter2021/storm.pdf) through February 17. The storm arrived overnight, and within 36 hours the [ERCOT power grid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis) had failed across most of the state. UH's [Hobby School of Public Affairs](https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2021/april-2021/04082021-hobby-winter-hc.php) later documented that 91 percent of Harris County residents lost power at some point during the storm, with an average outage of 49 hours. The City of Houston issued a boil-water notice on February 17 after its main water treatment plant lost power; the notice affected more than 13 million Texans regionally and would not be lifted until February 21. UH extended its closure three times -- ultimately reopening on Monday, February 22. Statewide, [more than 240 deaths](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_13%E2%80%9317,_2021_North_American_winter_storm) were attributed to the storm. The Hobby School subsequently authored the most-cited [academic assessment](https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2021/march-2021/03292021-hobby-winter-storm.php) of Winter Storm Uri's impact on Texans, using survey data gathered from UH community members and the broader Houston region.", "keyFindings": [ "Seven-day campus closure (February 15 through February 21, 2021) -- among the longest weather-related closures in UH's history", "91 percent of Harris County residents lost power at some point during the storm -- average outage of 49 hours", "City of Houston boil-water notice (February 17-21) affected more than 13 million Texans regionally", "UH canceled online classes in addition to in-person -- unusual but reflective of widespread power and internet outages", "UH's Hobby School subsequently produced the most-cited academic assessment of Winter Storm Uri's human impact" ], "responseTimeMinutes": null, "sources": [ { "title": "The Winter Storm of 2021 -- Hobby School of Public Affairs", "url": "https://www.uh.edu/hobby/winter2021/storm.pdf", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Harris County Took Brunt of February Freeze -- University of Houston", "url": "https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2021/april-2021/04082021-hobby-winter-hc.php", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "New Report Details Impact of Winter Storm Uri on Texans -- University of Houston", "url": "https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2021/march-2021/03292021-hobby-winter-storm.php", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "February 13-17, 2021 North American winter storm -- Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_13%E2%80%9317,_2021_North_American_winter_storm", "type": "other" }, { "title": "2021 Texas power crisis -- Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis", "type": "other" }, { "title": "UH ALERT Notification Archive / API", "url": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "UH ALERT API v2 (full alert feed)", "url": "https://alerts.uh.edu/api/v2/uh/all?limit=500", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "UH ALERT API v2 (full alert feed)", "url": "https://alerts.uh.edu/api/v2/uh/all?limit=2000", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "UH ALERT API v2 (main campus)", "url": "https://alerts.uh.edu/api/v2/uh/all", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "UH ALERT Notification Archive", "url": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=816941434413865", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "UH ALERT Notification Archive", "url": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=817353751274757", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API textMessage)", "url": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=817216312316818", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API textMessage)", "url": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=823401065219017", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API textMessage)", "url": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=823401065219672", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "UH ALERT official Notification Archive (alerts.uh.edu API textMessage)", "url": "https://alerts.uh.edu/alert-archive/?id=823401065224720", "type": "official-archive" } ], "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "winter-storm", "uri", "texas-freeze", "university-of-houston", "ercot", "power-outage", "boil-water", "campus-closure", "weather", "february-2021" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-14", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-20", "addedBy": "ingestion" }