Campus Alert Archive
UH

Five Days Frozen: University of Houston Closes Campus as Winter Storm Uri Knocks Power to 91% of Harris County

TXwinter stormemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Beginning the morning of February 15, 2021, Winter Storm Uri dropped Houston into a five-day freeze that knocked out power to 91 percent of Harris County residents for an average of 49 hours. The University of Houston closed its main and satellite campuses through Saturday, February 20, suspended all in-person and online instruction, and warned residential students of the citywide boil-water notice that affected more than 13 million Texans. UH-affiliated MD Anderson and UTHealth campuses also paused operations including vaccination clinics.

Alerts
4
Response
min
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of Houston
Public R1 · TX
~47,000 studentsRave Mobile SafetyPIER Emergency Notifications
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

4 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 ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionUH Hobby School Winter Storm 2021 report (alert text reconstructed)379 chars
UH Alert: Due to the severe winter weather forecast for the Houston area, the University of Houston will be closed beginning Monday, February 15, through Wednesday, February 17. All in-person and online classes are canceled. Essential personnel only. Residential students should remain in their assigned housing. Updates will follow through the UH website and PIER notifications.

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

Sent on Sunday February 14 as forecasts confirmed an extreme Arctic outbreak overnight into Monday morning
Canceled ONLINE classes -- unusual for a winter storm but reflective of widespread anticipated power and internet outages
Initial three-day closure (Monday-Wednesday) would be extended through Saturday February 20 as the storm's severity worsened
Houston had not experienced sustained sub-freezing temperatures of this magnitude since the 1989 Christmas freeze
UPDATESMS+2d
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from UH closure communications and the City of Austin Winter Storm Uri After-Action Report (boil-water details)361 chars
UH Alert: Campus closure extended through Friday, February 19. The City of Houston has issued a boil-water notice. Conserve water. Do not run faucets to prevent freezing -- use approved drip technique only. If you smell gas, evacuate and call 911. Residential students with no heat or water should report to the designated warming centers. UH Police monitoring.

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

Sent on Wednesday February 17 -- the third day of the freeze, when ERCOT rolling blackouts had become uncontrolled outages for many Texans
Reflected the conflict between two competing instructions: pipe-freeze prevention (drip faucets) vs. citywide water conservation under boil-water notice
Houston's main water treatment plant on the East Side lost power on February 17 -- triggering the boil-water notice that lasted through February 21
Designated warming centers on UH's main campus included the Student Center and parts of the recreation complex
UPDATEEmail+5d
Approximate reconstructionUH Hobby School Winter Storm 2021 report (closure extension reconstructed)363 chars
UH Alert: Campus closure extended through Sunday, February 21. Classes will resume Monday, February 22. Boil-water notice remains in effect for the City of Houston and the UH campus. Bottled water distribution will continue at the Student Center loading dock. Faculty: contact your dean about course extensions. We thank you for your patience as Houston recovers.

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

Third closure extension -- pushing total UH closure to seven calendar days (February 15 through February 21)
Bottled water distribution at the Student Center loading dock was funded through a combination of UH emergency reserves and donations
Course extension language reflected the impossibility of remote learning when residential students lacked power, water, and internet
Most Texas R1 universities followed similar multi-day extensions; UH's was among the longest at 7 days
ALL CLEAREmail+7d
Approximate reconstructionUH return-to-operations communication reconstructed from Hobby School report345 chars
UH Alert: The University of Houston has resumed normal operations. In-person and online classes will meet on a regular schedule today. The City of Houston boil-water notice has been lifted as of Sunday evening. Building-specific issues should be reported to Facilities. Thank you to everyone who supported our community through Winter Storm Uri.

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

Sent Monday morning February 22, 2021 -- after the Sunday February 21 evening lifting of the City of Houston boil-water notice
Eight calendar days after the initial closure began on February 15 -- among the longest weather-related closures in UH's history
Hobby School subsequently published the most-cited academic study of Winter Storm Uri's impact on Texans, using survey data collected from February 22 through early March 2021
Houston's water system would take additional weeks to fully recover; some buildings had pressure issues into March
Context

Background

On February 14, 2021, with Winter Storm Uri forecast to bring an Arctic outbreak unseen in Houston since 1989, the University of Houston announced initial closures through February 17. The storm arrived overnight, and within 36 hours the ERCOT power grid had failed across most of the state. UH's Hobby School of Public Affairs later documented that 91 percent of Harris County residents lost power at some point during the storm, with an average outage of 49 hours. The City of Houston issued a boil-water notice on February 17 after its main water treatment plant lost power; the notice affected more than 13 million Texans regionally and would not be lifted until February 21. UH extended its closure three times -- ultimately reopening on Monday, February 22. Statewide, more than 240 deaths were attributed to the storm. The Hobby School subsequently authored the most-cited academic assessment of Winter Storm Uri's impact on Texans, using survey data gathered from UH community members and the broader Houston region.
Analysis

Key Findings

Seven-day campus closure (February 15 through February 21, 2021) -- among the longest weather-related closures in UH's history
91 percent of Harris County residents lost power at some point during the storm -- average outage of 49 hours
City of Houston boil-water notice (February 17-21) affected more than 13 million Texans regionally
UH canceled online classes in addition to in-person -- unusual but reflective of widespread power and internet outages
UH's Hobby School subsequently produced the most-cited academic assessment of Winter Storm Uri's human impact
Outcome
The University of Houston extended closures three separate times before reopening on Monday, February 22, 2021. Statewide, [more than 240 deaths](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_13%E2%80%9317,_2021_North_American_winter_storm) were attributed to the storm. UH's Hobby School of Public Affairs subsequently authored the leading [academic assessment of the storm's impact](https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2021/march-2021/03292021-hobby-winter-storm.php). The storm exposed the inadequacy of Houston's water-treatment redundancy and the brittleness of the ERCOT power grid for higher-education operations.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    The Winter Storm of 2021 -- Hobby School of Public Affairs
    uh.edu
  2. Official
    Harris County Took Brunt of February Freeze -- University of Houston
    uh.edu
  3. Official
    New Report Details Impact of Winter Storm Uri on Texans -- University of Houston
    uh.edu
  4. Source
    February 13-17, 2021 North American winter storm -- Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
  5. Source
    2021 Texas power crisis -- Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
Tags
winter-stormuritexas-freezeuniversity-of-houstonercotpower-outageboil-watercampus-closureweatherfebruary-2021
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion