Extreme cold weather was responsible for the cancellation of classes and several prominent events at the University of North Dakota in the latter half of last week, Jan. 22-23.
With the National Weather Service reporting Thursday windchill temperatures as low as –51 degrees Fahrenheit, UND alerted students around 3 p.m. Thursday that Friday in-person classes would be cancelled due to the extreme-cold conditions. These conditions continued in much the same vein over the weekend.
Grand Forks is far from the only place experiencing the intense cold. Last Thursday night, the National Weather Service classified the entirety of North Dakota and Minnesota, as well as huge portions of South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Montana and more as being under an extreme cold warning. This warning was lifted for many of the areas in the following days. Grand Forks’ warning wasn’t lifted until Sunday.
Aside from classes, several notable events scheduled to be held on campus Thursday and Friday were postponed or outright cancelled. Rediscovering Lost Values, a Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and awards ceremony held annually by the Office of Community & Belonging and the Hilyard Center, was meant to be held Thursday night in the Memorial Union. The event would have included a keynote address by Dr. Yohuru Williams, as well as a live performance on the MU Social Stairs by R&B artist Devon Braxton. It was unfortunately cancelled just hours before its scheduled 5 p.m. start time.
A UND Ensembles Showcase Concert meant to begin at 4 p.m. Friday was also postponed. The concert would have served as the kickoff event for the UND Honor Band, Choir & Strings Festival. According to Dr. James Popejoy, Director of Bands at UND, the faculty and staff involved directly with the festival are exploring options for moving the event to sometime later in the semester, if possible.
Extreme cold weather is always a possibility in Grand Forks during the winter, and while daily temperatures have stabilized since last week’s intense conditions, students should always take the proper precautions to ensure the weather never takes them by surprise.
Quinn Berg is a Dakota Student Section Editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
