UVA cancels: Yet only half an inch of rain so far
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This trio of umbrella-bearers, photographed under a light drizzle at 8:49am Monday, was the most bundled of the morning's Downtown Mall walkers.hawes spencer
The University of Virginia, the institution famous for soldiering on in the face of blizzards and ice storms, has joined notoriously jittery transport directors of the Charlottesville and Albemarle public school systems by canceling classes on Monday, the day when the first tentacles of what's being called the "Frankenstorm" have barely reached Central Virginia. Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has canceled her 5:30pm appearance at UVA's Miller Center, another manifestation of the widespread panic over a late-season storm called Hurricane Sandy.
Meanwhile, at KCHO, the weather center at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, the rainfall tally is just half an inch in the 12 hours spanning 7:53pm Sunday to 7:53am Monday the 29th of October.
The Airport itself appears to be operating normally, with many of Monday morning's departures and arrivals moving as scheduled. For instance, the morning's departures to Chicago and Charlotte took off and landed on time, but the departures to New York and Dulles were all canceled. And the management of CHO has warned travelers that other destinations might soon be imperiled.
Over on the railroad tracks, there's disruption galore, as Amtrak has curtailed many of its trains passing through the mid-Atlantic portions of the county. Amtrak announced overnight that the popular "Northeast Corridor"– including the Lynchburg-based Virginia service– is canceled Monday.
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By 4:53pm Monday, the total rainfall measured the Airport was just one inch. Like some of the rural systems, Albemarle public schools have already declared themselves closed for Tuesday as well.
–-developing story...may be updated–
25 comments
And what will the traders do -
the first weather-related closure of U.S. stock market in 27 years.
PVCC sent out text messages at 9:00 p.m. last night, closing down on Monday too.
The hurricane is supposed to strike Philadelphia Monday evening so everything in central Virginia gets closed Monday morning?
The forecast calls for some rain here and gusts of wind.
This should be filed with Jefferson's infamous fleeing over Carter's mountain and the surrender of Charlottesville to General Custer.
This town is run by and filled with a bunch of cowards.
And if they didn't shut things down and someone was hurt or otherwise, you guys would also be the first ones on here screaming about that too.
We may see some wind and rain, but there will be catastrophic damage and even death for some, and putting all politics aside; this storm wil remind us that we are one country and disasters being us together.
These pictures tell the story
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/29/14779590-live-updates-on-hurr...
Ohh Nancy you big ole fear monger as usual. The UVA ers are kinda like Gizmo if they get wet they reproduce like crazy. You don't want to know what happends when they eat after midnight. If you do head to lil johns and watch the carnage unfold.
I think you can cancel that "yet" clause in the headline. As of mid-afternoon, wind gusts in western Albemarle are starting to get very nasty. Conditions have deteriorated rapidly since noon. The fewer people on the roads right now, the better.
Fear mongering will help no one, but taking precautions and being prepared will. I agree with all the cancelled classes. The storm has picked up speed and will soon be upon us. It is unrealistic to expect anyone in a position of authority for public safety to be able to predict to the hour when such an event will hit and where, if the top meteorologists in the world are unable to do so.
I doubt you will see our region unscathed by this massive storm, and I hope that the public will heed the warnings - stay indoors this evening into tomorrow, and if you live near tall trees go to the lowest floor of your house during the height of the storm or leave for a safer refuge.
Well, this must be blamed on Helen Dragas! :-)
A little caution goes a long way. Would prefer to close schools and prevent any injuries or possible death. These storms are unpredictable. It is not smart to mess with Mother Nature.
Just saying.
I've taken showers that are worse than the rain we've seen. This is nothin'. I can't believe all the closures in our area!
Why are we NOT discussing R.J. Kirk's resignation from the BoV? Hello? I believe the December 2012 accreditation will be significant and no one wants to bed with the loser(s)...hello Dragas?
Dragas needs to resign before UVA loses its' accreditation!
They should have at least waited until morning before deciding to cancel classes -- then they would have found out that there was absolutely no reason to.
I would be embarrassed if I had decided to cancel classes for TWO DAYS of nothing.
RE: "Fear mongering will help no one,"..."I doubt you will see our region unscathed by this massive storm, and I hope that the public will heed the warnings - stay indoors this evening into tomorrow, and if you live near tall trees go to the lowest floor of your house during the height of the storm or leave for a safer refuge."
Bwahahaha.
Jittery. Oh just stop. They're trying to keep people safe and keep people off of the roads in what could have been a horror show. Look at what this storm did to our north. If it had turned a little more we'd have been hammered.
Try getting a job that makes you responsible for others' safety and then throw stones when administrators have to make tough decisions like this. I presume you required, under penalty of losing their job, that all of your employees showed up to work regardless of what the storm did yesterday or today?
While hindsight is always 50/50, as an employee, I'm appreciative that the current leadership considered the safety of the students, faculty and staff for a change. I can remember many, many times having to go into work when the roads were covered in snow, sleet or thick ice and the police were asking people to stay home unless it was an emergency. UVa classes were not cancelled and everyone had to report in at our regular time even if our roads weren't cleared.
Like I said, hindsight is 50/50 and I can understand the costs of shutting down the University and the need to consider everyone's safety. It has to be a hard decision to consider these angles.
It is absolutely ridiculous that UVA and the City schools are closed on Tuesday...
? why is that? Further, UVA isn't closed, they've just cancelled classes. The hospital and most all of the services are running as normal. All of these decisions were made in the face of what could have been a devastating storm.
I love the 20/20 hindsight crowd. I too am great at calling the plays after I've already watched the game.
For safety's sake, I'm going to start doing my mallwalking in a helmet, goggles & Kevlar vest.
I tend to not like the monday morning quarterbacking but, in this instance, there was no reason to call off classes so early. by monday night, it was abundantly clear that we were not having a significant event here on tuesday. the fact that NJ and elsewhere were having a horrible event is not relevant. i see how liability is limited but I don't see how safety for students is improved in this circumstance.
in a less litigious culture, schools with electricity might feel compelled to open their doors knowing some of their students likely don't have power at home.
It wasn't clear. There were still warnings of all kinds and the worst of the weather was expected overnight Monday into Tuesday morning and early afternoon. It didn't clear up until early morning Tuesday.
There have been many many thunderstorms that were worse than Sandy. I guess better safe than sorry but I never did think this would amount to much for Central VA.
Predictions as of Monday night were for sustained winds and high gusts (50+ mph) to continue into Tuesday morning. That didn't happen--things started quieting down after midnight or so. But if it *had* happened, roads and general conditions in some parts of the area would have been pretty bad for at least the morning commute.
Those of you making fun of the storm's impact would have been welcome out at my place helping chainsaw three large pines that came down across the driveway & keeping warm in a house without power for 16 hours. (Nowhere as bad as the derecho, but still...)
We're turning of the comments here because we've got a new storm story up: http://readthehook.com/108686/sandys-wrath-did-schools-overreact