News

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for New York City and its surrounding areas, beginning at noon tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 20, through 6 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21. 

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for New York City and its surrounding areas, lasting from 6 a.m. until midnight today, Tuesday February 12, 2019. Read this update for impacts to campus due to the snowfall.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for New York City and its surrounding areas, lasting from 6 a.m. tomorrow until midnight. 

Two members of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) community were recently diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, caused by the meningococcal bacteria known as type B.  They are currently hospitalized and are responding to treatment.  We understand the great concern this causes. We are sharing information through this letter and the attached fact sheet to ensure that you understand the nature of this illness and the limited ways that transmission can occur, and also so you are fully aware of what we are doing to protect the health of our community. In speaking with them today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health officials recommend that activities on the Columbia University campus continue as normal. 

Light snow is forecast for New York City later tonight, with the National Weather Service issuing a Winter Weather Advisory for some areas surrounding the city. 

The National Weather Service has upgraded this weekend’s storm to a Winter Storm Watch for the New York City area from Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon.

There are two weather systems predicted to make impacts in the greater New York City region beginning this evening and during the weekend.

We anticipate normal operations on campus for tomorrow, November 16. The Grounds team has cleared paths, but with rain falling on top of snow, conditions will remain wet and slick. Please exercise caution when traveling through campus.

Given current snow conditions, please exercise caution when traveling through campus.  The Grounds team is actively clearing snow to maintain pathways but conditions are hazardous.  The Earl Hall and Chapel gates may close as a safety precaution as conditions develop.  Please continue to check the Transportation website for current service conditions and possible suspension of the Intercampus, Lamont-Doherty, and Public Safety Evening shuttles. 

Columbia University is closely monitoring the current outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that was declared on August 1, 2018 by the Ministry of Public Health of the DRC. This current outbreak is located in the North Kivu and Ituri Provinces in the DRC. The Ministry of Public Health, World Health Organization (WHO), and partners are responding to this event and working to establish the full extent of this outbreak. No cases have been reported in neighboring countries to date. Highest risk of spread is to Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia; heightened surveillance and screening has been implemented in Burundi, CAR, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Presently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and WHO have not issued any travel warnings or restrictions to these regions. Columbia's International SOS service has issued travel advisories for any members of the community planning to visit these areas, advising travelers to defer non-essential travel to the affected areas in North Kivu and Itari Provinces until outbreak control measures have been definitively established.

The Emergency Management Operations Team is closely monitoring Hurricane Florence. Although the National Weather Service predicts landfall in North Carolina, there currently remains uncertainty regarding the system’s track, intensity and impacts to our area this week.

We will keep the Columbia community informed as conditions change. We urge all members of the Columbia community to stay informed about weather conditions and check https://preparedness.columbia.edu/  or www.columbia.edu for campus updates as the situation develops.

Students, faculty and staff should take time to secure your spaces as soon as possible, to help preserve buildings, materials, equipment and data. Make sure all windows are closed securely. This single step may be the most important way that you can protect your spaces—and those of others—from potentially damaging high winds and heavy rain.

If possible, please turn off computers, lights and other equipment when leaving your space. Additionally, electrical or valuable items should be moved off the floor and away from windows.

The safety of our students and campus community is paramount. For assistance with campus and building services, contact Facilities at 212-854-2222 at Morningside, and 212-305-HELP at the Medical Center. For students living in the residence halls, the Hartley Hospitality Desk will also be open, 212-854-2779. To report an emergency on campus, call Public Safety at 212-854-5555 at Morningside and 212-305-7979 at the Medical Center.

For the latest information on weather and transit, please visit:

• The New York City Severe Weather website: http://www1.nyc.gov/site/severeweather/index.page
• The MTA website: http://www.mta.info
• The National Weather Service website: http://www.weather.gov

Columbia University continues to monitor Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene advisories regarding Zika virus. These travel advisories are for much of the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America, and some areas of Southeast Asia. (See map at http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/).

Snow began falling early this morning across New York City. The Emergency Management Operations Team (EMOT) is actively monitoring weather conditions. While forecasts predict a change to rain later in the day, difficult travel conditions are affecting the morning commute. Intercampus shuttles are delayed and peripheral gates are closed at Morningside for snow removal.

The current winter storm is expected to taper off during the early morning hours, and we anticipate that Columbia will resume normal campus operations for Thursday, March 22.