IU classes canceled, Weather Service issues winter storm warning for Bloomington

All IU classes have been canceled beginning at 2:30 p.m. today. Classes will remain canceled until 10 a.m. Wednesday. Campus currently remains open.

University officials decided to cancel classes after conditions became worse throughout the day, IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said.

While classes are canceled, the University itself isn’t closed to critical staff. Many non-critical staff have left campus.

IU Campus bus has announced it will be reducing routes after 6 p.m. until 12:30 a.m., pending weather conditions, according to the campus bus website. If conditions become worse, service may end earlier. Regular service will resume at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the website.

MacIntyre said the primary consideration was the safety of the students and the staff. The streets and sidewalks on campus looked clear when officials made a pass at about 6 a.m., he said.

But, as conditions have become worse, the sidewlks and streets were becoming unsafe, MacIntyre said.

Officials will look at the campus before 6 a.m. Wednesday and then make the decision whether or not to cancel classes.

The officials who make the decision are Vice President for Capital Projects and Facilities Tom Morrison, Vice President for Regional Affairs, Planning and Police John Applegate and Bloomington Provost Karen Hanson.

The last time school was cancelled because of the weather was in spring 2009 semester.

This comes in addition to the winter storm warning issued by the National Weather Service for Bloomington and much of the surrounding area. The warning remains in effect until 7 p.m. Wednesday. Click here for a seven-day forecast from the National Weather Service.

After consulting the National Weather Service, Mayor Mark Kruzan and Monroe County Commission President Patrick Stoffers announced that all non-emergency city and county services were closed as of noon today.

A mixture of freezing rain and sleet is expected to continue into the evening, said spokesperson for the National Weather Service Forecast Office. Pedestrians should be cautious of heavy ice weighing down power lines and tree branches, he said.

Lee May, general manager for Bloomington Transit, said it’s hard to say how the weather is going to affect the city routes. He said in the last 10 years Bloomington Transit has only stopped service two times, and that was when there was more than 10 inches of snow.

“We haven’t had a lot of ice storms in the past 10 years,” May said. “This is different weather, so we will have to play it by ear.”

May said if conditions become unsafe for buses to be operating they will be stopped, but he doesn’t want anyone to be stranded.

“We have an obligation to the community,” he said.

— John Seasly, Jake Wright and Nick Cusack