National Weather Service Boise has issued a Winter Weather Watch from Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon, along with follow-on snow events and cooler weather forecast throughout next week which will impact our campus community and your commute.
Additionally, heavy snow is forecast for the mountains, so any travel through the region on your way back to campus is expected to be challenging. We can expect to see snow accumulation on campus during Bronco Welcome on Sunday and for the first day of spring semester classes on Monday. The following information is to help inform you in case you have any issues with weather during the first week.
In the event of inclement weather, the safety of students, faculty and staff is paramount. Faculty, staff and students should evaluate their own circumstances carefully, exercise appropriate judgment, and take responsibility for their safety when making decisions related to traveling to and from campus during inclement weather. Students who are unable to attend class or who will be late due to weather should communicate with their instructors, preferably by email in accordance with the Student Handbook.
During extreme inclement weather, the decision to cancel or delay classes or scheduled events is made by an administrative team that carefully weighs many factors. With due consideration to safety, the university will remain open and operate normally to the greatest extent possible. The university rarely can fully close because students live on campus, outside events are scheduled and services must be delivered to incoming and existing students.
In the event of a campus closure, class cancellation or delay, a Bronco Alert will be sent to students, faculty and staff, along with other messaging. Every effort will be made to ensure that the campus community is fully informed. To ensure you are notified, please review and update your information in the Bronco Alert system.
In the event of a closure or delay, each vice president will determine critical business functions in his or her division. Directors of activities in critical business areas will communicate to their employees their work attendance requirements regardless of what is communicated to the general university population.
University facilities and public safety teams work diligently to plan ahead and clear pathways on and around campus as much as possible when we are hit with snow and ice, but please always take care, allow extra time and be patient as we can’t always predict with complete accuracy how the weather will impact us. If you find an area of campus that needs attention, please call (208) 426-1409 or text (208) 866-6825.
We are excited to welcome you back to campus this week and look forward to a successful semester; travel safe!
Some useful resources for Winter Weather before you hit the road:
Road Conditions
Idaho 511: https://511.idaho.gov
Oregon TripCheck: https://www.tripcheck.com
Washington DOT Alerts: https://www.wsdot.com/traffic/trafficalerts/
Regional/Local Weather Forecasts
NOAA: https://www.noaa.gov (click on “Find your local weather”)
NWS Boise: https://www.weather.gov/boi/
Preparedness
Ready.gov
Car Safety
https://www.ready.gov/car
Campus Safety
https://www.ready.gov/campus
Idaho DOT Idaho Ready: https://itd.idaho.gov/travel/?target=idaho-ready/