Campus Alert Archive
UT Austin

Two-Day Freeze: UT Austin Shuts All Central Texas Facilities Through Monday and Tuesday for Winter Storm Fern

TXwinter stormadvisorymedium confidence

On January 26-27, 2026, The University of Texas at Austin closed all classes and facilities due to Winter Storm Fern, the late-January 2026 arctic outbreak that dropped freezing rain and ice across Central Texas. UT had earlier closed campus from 5 p.m. Saturday through 12 p.m. Sunday for the storm's leading edge, then extended the closure through Monday and Tuesday after road conditions failed to improve. Roughly 53,000 students and 27,000 employees were affected.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
The University of Texas at Austin
Public R1 · TX
~53,000 studentsLonghorn Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages 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 reconstruction242 chars
Longhorn Alert: Due to anticipated ice accumulation, UT Austin is closing from 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24 through 12 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25. All weekend activities and events are canceled. Continue to monitor longhornalert.utexas.edu for updates.

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

Reconstructed from CBS Austin reporting; the underlying Longhorn Alert SMS is not in a public archive
The Saturday-Sunday closure was UT's leading-edge response to the storm's freezing rain forecast
Longhorn Alert is the university's emergency notification system, used for both severe weather and active-threat events
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction251 chars
Longhorn Alert: The University of Texas at Austin will remain closed through Monday, Jan. 26. All classes and events are cancelled, and all UT Austin facilities in Central Texas will be closed. Continue to monitor longhornalert.utexas.edu for updates.

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

Reconstructed to match the wording of the verified UT Austin Facebook post announcing the Monday closure
The closure was extended after forecasters confirmed sub-freezing temperatures and continued ice through Monday
UT Austin's decision to close all Central Texas facilities (not just the main campus) covered the J.J. Pickle Research Campus and Austin-based remote operations
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction256 chars
Longhorn Alert: UT Austin will remain closed on Tuesday, Jan. 27 due to continued hazardous road conditions. All classes and events are canceled. The University will reopen on Wednesday, Jan. 28. Monitor longhornalert.utexas.edu for the latest information.

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

Reconstructed from KUT public radio reporting that confirmed UT Austin extended the closure through Tuesday
Austin ISD and the University of Texas both extended closures into Tuesday as roads remained unsafe
The Wednesday reopening matched the broader Central Texas pattern of road clearance by midweek
Context

Background

Winter Storm Fern, the late-January 2026 arctic outbreak that brought freezing rain and a hard freeze to Texas, forced The University of Texas at Austin to close in stages. The university initially closed from 5 p.m. Saturday, January 24, through noon Sunday, then extended the closure through Monday, January 26, and finally through Tuesday, January 27 as roads remained unsafe. The university used its Longhorn Alert system — successor to UT's earlier UT Alert platform — to communicate the cascading closures to approximately 53,000 students and 27,000 employees. UT Austin reopened on Wednesday, January 28. Winter Storm Fern was an unusually severe event for Central Texas: more than 1 million customers across the affected states lost power at the storm's peak on January 25, and the NWS Fort Worth post-storm summary documented widespread freezing rain accumulations exceeding half an inch. UT Austin was joined in closure by Texas State University, the University of Houston, Lone Star College System, and most Central Texas school districts.
Analysis

Key Findings

UT Austin's closure used a three-stage announcement pattern (weekend, Monday, Tuesday) rather than a single multi-day closure, reflecting forecaster uncertainty about when road conditions would improve
Longhorn Alert was the channel for all three closure messages, demonstrating the multi-purpose use of the university's emergency notification system for non-active-threat events
The decision to close all UT Austin facilities in Central Texas (not just the main campus) is a notable scope expansion that captured J.J. Pickle Research Campus and other satellite operations
Outcome
UT Austin reopened on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, after road conditions improved across Central Texas. No casualties on campus, though Winter Storm Fern killed at least seven people across Texas. Spring semester classes resumed without further weather disruption.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    UT Austin closing Saturday night through Sunday afternoon due to anticipated ice (CBS Austin)
    cbsaustin.com
  2. Social
    The University of Texas at Austin will remain closed through Monday, Jan 26 (UT Austin Facebook)
    facebook.com
  3. News
    Austin-area schools announce Tuesday closures as extreme cold continues (KUT)
    kut.org
  4. Official
    Longhorn Alert (UT Austin Emergency Use Website)
    longhornalert.utexas.edu
  5. government report
    Winter Storm January 23-26, 2026 (NWS Fort Worth)
    weather.gov
Tags
winter-stormwinter-storm-ferntexascampus-closurepublic-r1longhorn-alertmulti-day-closureice-storm
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion