Campus Alert Archive
UConn

15 Inches in Storrs: UConn Cancels Spring-Semester Classes for Winter Storm Benjamin

CTwinter stormadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On Sunday, January 26, 2025, the University of Connecticut canceled all classes at its Storrs main campus ahead of Winter Storm Benjamin, which produced 12 to 20 inches of snow across central and eastern Connecticut, with trained spotters reporting 15 inches in Storrs-Mansfield. UConn's Office of Emergency Management pushed the cancellation through UConnALERT on the morning of January 26 — the first major weather closure of the spring 2025 semester.

Alerts
1
Response
min
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of Connecticut
Public R1 · CT
~27,000 studentsEverbridgeUConnALERT
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction225 chars
UConnALERT: Due to Winter Storm Benjamin, the Storrs campus will be closed and all classes canceled today, Sunday, January 26, 2025. Essential operations remain open. Please avoid travel and check alert.uconn.edu for updates.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

UConn's Office of Emergency Management issues weather cancellation notifications following a joint resolution with the offices of the President, Provost, Facilities Operations, and Faculty-Staff Labor Relations
UConn aims to push overnight-storm closures by 5:00 AM EST so that commuters and on-campus residents have time to plan
UConnALERT runs on Everbridge and routes simultaneously to SMS, email, the alert.uconn.edu landing page, and a 24-hour hotline at (860) 486-3768
Context

Background

Winter Storm Benjamin tracked across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on January 25-26, 2025, producing a widespread 12 to 20 inches of snow across central and eastern Connecticut, with trained National Weather Service spotters reporting 15 inches in Storrs-Mansfield — the town that hosts UConn's main campus. The University of Connecticut canceled all classes at the Storrs campus on Sunday, January 26 — a notable decision because Sunday classes are uncommon, but the closure functioned as a forward-looking signal that the university's snow-removal and dining-services operations would be in storm-response mode all day. UConn's Office of Emergency Management is responsible for issuing such notifications following a joint resolution with the offices of the President, Provost, Facilities Operations, and Faculty-Staff Labor Relations. The university's stated practice is to push overnight-storm closures by 5:00 AM EST through UConnALERT, the Everbridge-powered emergency notification system that simultaneously fires SMS, email, the alert.uconn.edu landing page, and the 24-hour UConn Alert hotline. Benjamin was the second major storm of the Spring 2025 semester — Winter Storm Albatross had brought several inches of snow on January 20 — and accelerated the university's mid-semester debate over snow-day decision-making in the post-COVID, hybrid-class era.
Analysis

Key Findings

UConn canceled all Storrs classes on Sunday, January 26, 2025, ahead of Winter Storm Benjamin's 12-20 inches of snowfall, with 15 inches reported in Storrs-Mansfield
UConn's Office of Emergency Management issues snow-day notifications via UConnALERT (Everbridge) and aims to push overnight-storm closures by 5:00 AM EST
Essential operations (public safety, residential and dining services, health services, animal care, facility maintenance) continued through the storm
Benjamin was the second significant winter storm of the Spring 2025 semester, following Winter Storm Albatross on January 20, 2025
Outcome
All classes and non-essential operations at UConn Storrs were canceled for January 26, 2025. Essential operations (public safety, residential and dining services, health services, animal care, facility maintenance) continued. No campus injuries or major facility damage were reported.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    UConn Alert | Home (UConn Office of Emergency Management)
    alert.uconn.edu
  2. Official
    Emergency Closing Policy (UConn Alert)
    alert.uconn.edu
  3. Student Paper
    Winter weather is back in Connecticut. How does UConn decide when to cancel class? (The Daily Campus)
    dailycampus.com
  4. Official
    Winter Weather & Academic Operations FAQ – AY 25/26 (UConn Office of the Provost)
    provost.uconn.edu
  5. Official
    Winter Storm Guide (UConn Off-Campus and Commuter Student Resources)
    offcampus.uconn.edu
  6. Official
    UConn Emergency Alert System (UConn Division of Public Safety)
    publicsafety.uconn.edu
Tags
winter-stormweatherconnecticutstorrsuconnalerteverbridgecampus-closuresnow-dayspring-semesterwinter-storm-benjamin
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion