By Steven Viera || Senior Editor
Beginning the evening of Friday, January 22, Superstorm Jonas struck the East Coast, leaving many areas—including Lancaster County—blanketed beneath several feet of snow. In response to the adverse weather conditions, the College altered or shut down some of its normal weekend operations.
According to this article from Lancaster Online, as of 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 23, some areas of Lancaster County received 26.7 inches of snow—the greatest snowfall in nearly 20 years, but not quite enough to break records.
In Lancaster City, many business were closed in response to the weather and a travel ban was put in place, forbidding any non-emergency vehicles from using the roads. Snowplows worked to clear the streets but some side streets were left untended; according to a city official, all streets should be clear by Monday morning.
No major injuries or deaths were reported in the county as a result of the storm.
On campus, members of Facilities & Operations (F&O) worked to shovel out walkways; these crews remained active until about midnight on Saturday night and resumed service at approximately 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 24. F&O also issued a mandate that all cars parked in the Race Ave parking lot move out by Sunday at 2:30 p.m. with the suggestion that those cars move to the West Lot of the Alumni Sports & Fitness Center (ASFC).
Most campus services maintained their normal hours of operations on Friday but closed early, if not entirely, on Saturday. Dining services in the Steinman College Center and Zime closed completely on Saturday, although the Dining Hall remained open and sold meals to students without a meal plan for the price of $6.40. The Steinman College Center closed at 4:00 p.m., the ASFC closed at 2:00 p.m., and Mayser Gymnasium closed at 3:00 p.m. All athletic events scheduled for Saturday were postponed to a later date. Shadek-Fackenthal Library opened from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, but Martin Library of the Sciences, the Innovation Zone, and the Phillips Museum of Art were closed for the day.
Normal college operations were expected to resume as of Sunday around 10:00 a.m.
Senior Steven Viera is the Senior Editor. His email is sviera@fandm.edu.