Campus Alert Archive
Tulane

10 Inches of Snow on Bourbon Street: Tulane Closes for Winter Storm Enzo, Switches to Remote Operations

LAwinter stormemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On January 20, 2025, Tulane University announced that it would shift to remote operations and physically close on Tuesday, January 21, 2025 due to the historic Gulf Coast blizzard (informally Winter Storm Enzo). New Orleans recorded approximately 10 inches of snowfall — among the highest totals in city history — and conditions were severe enough that Tulane extended remote operations into Wednesday, January 22. Classes transitioned to an online format and only essential personnel reported to campus.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Tulane University
Private R1 · LA
~14,000 studentsTU Alerts
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

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 ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatimTulane University official X (Twitter) post quoted directly271 chars
Due to forecasted winter weather, Tulane will shift to remote operations and will be physically closed on Tuesday, Jan. 21, except for essential personnel. Classes scheduled for Tuesday will transition to an online format. Read the full announcement: tulane.edu/emergency
The post was published on the official @Tulane Twitter/X account ahead of Winter Storm Enzo's arrival on January 21, 2025
The phrasing 'shift to remote operations and will be physically closed' is a hedged form of 'closure' that allows continuity of academic and research activities while clearing campus of non-essential personnel
The reference to 'essential personnel' as an exception encompasses Tulane's medical center staff, clinic providers, and research-vivarium operations — Tulane has both an academic and a major medical complex
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction220 chars
Tulane will continue to maintain remote operations and the campus will remain physically closed Wednesday, Jan. 22, except for essential personnel. Classes will continue in an online format. Updates: tulane.edu/emergency

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

Reconstructed; Tulane extended its closure into Wednesday January 22, 2025 because road conditions in New Orleans remained dangerous after the storm dropped approximately 10 inches of snow
The phrase 'continue to maintain remote operations' signals a closure extension rather than a fresh new closure — a subtle but important framing that helps the community understand the storm's prolonged impact
Tulane Medical Center reported delivering at least three 'blizzard babies' during the closure, illustrating that for academic medical centers, 'closure' never includes essential clinical operations
Context

Background

Tulane University is a private R1 doctoral institution in New Orleans, Louisiana, with about 14,000 students and a large academic medical center. Winter Storm Enzo (officially the 2025 Gulf Coast blizzard) was a rare and unusually strong winter storm that brought blizzard conditions to the U.S. Gulf Coast between January 20 and 22, 2025 — a region that almost never sees significant snowfall. New Orleans recorded approximately 10 inches of snow, among the highest totals in city history, and Baton Rouge recorded a temperature of 7 degrees Fahrenheit, the lowest measured there in 95 years. On January 17–18, 2025, Tulane announced via its official X account that it would shift to remote operations and physically close on Tuesday, January 21, except for essential personnel. Classes transitioned to an online format. Tulane extended the closure into Wednesday, January 22 as conditions persisted. The Tulane School of Medicine reported that only essential personnel were required to report to provide patient care, manage labs and animal facilities, and maintain critical research. Tulane Medical Center successfully delivered 'blizzard babies' during the storm, illustrating the academic medical center's distinctive operational continuity even during severe-weather closures. Roads in Baton Rouge — home to LSU — remained closed Wednesday and Thursday, and LSU also canceled classes. Winter Storm Enzo killed at least five people regionally.
Analysis

Key Findings

Tulane's three-day notice (issued Jan. 17–18 for a Jan. 21 closure) is unusually long for a university weather closure announcement and reflects the rarity and forecast confidence for the Gulf Coast blizzard
The shift to 'remote operations' rather than full closure preserves academic continuity while clearing non-essential staff — a model that became more common after COVID-19 normalized synchronous online instruction
Tulane's academic medical center never fully closes; the 'essential personnel' designation specifically protected clinical operations during blizzard conditions previously unprecedented in southern Louisiana
The 2025 Gulf Coast blizzard exposed a gap in southern-state campus emergency planning: institutions like Tulane and LSU rarely face winter storms severe enough to require multi-day closures and had to adapt rapidly
Outcome
No injuries occurred at Tulane. The university shifted to remote operations and was physically closed on Tuesday, January 21 and Wednesday, January 22, 2025. Classes were moved to an online format. Essential personnel including hospital and clinic staff, security, vivarium technicians, and pharmacy employees reported as scheduled. Tulane Medical Center reported successfully delivering 'blizzard babies' during the storm. The 2025 Gulf Coast blizzard caused at least 5 deaths regionally and brought the lowest temperatures recorded in southern Louisiana in 95 years.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Social
    Tulane on X: Winter weather closure announcement
    x.com
  2. Official
    From frostbite to blizzard babies: Tulane Medicine teams winter the storm (Tulane Medicine)
    medicine.tulane.edu
  3. Official
    School of Medicine Winter Weather Updates (Tulane Medicine)
    medicine.tulane.edu
  4. Source
    2025 Gulf Coast blizzard (Wikipedia)
    en.wikipedia.org
  5. News
    Rare winter storm brings heavy snow, sleet and ice to South Louisiana (WWNO)
    wwno.org
  6. Official
    Emergency Information (Tulane)
    tulane.edu
  7. Social
    Tulane on Instagram: continued remote operations notice
    instagram.com
Tags
winter-stormblizzardlouisianaprivate-r1tulaneremote-operationsgulf-coast-blizzardverbatimwinter-storm-enzo
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion