Wintry weather covered Abilene with a record-breaking 14.8 inches of snow Sunday night, prompting the university to cancel in-person and online classes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Low temperatures, rolling power outages and high demand for water caused the city to shut off the water supply on Monday evening. Students without power are sheltering in various locations on campus and across Abilene, including the Hunter Welcome Center, the Don Morris Center, several residence halls and both campuses of Beltway Park Church.
For more on the university’s response to the wintry weather crisis, read below:
University assessing weather impacts ‘minute-by-minute’
Students flock to shelter during power outages, water shortages
- Snow covers the campus on Sunday. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Snow covers the campus on Sunday. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Snow covers the campus on Sunday. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Snow covers the campus on Sunday. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- The Faubus Fountain in front of the Hunter Welcome Center freezes over. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Ice covers the Faubus Fountain in front of the Hunter Welcome Center. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Willingham Way stands covered in snow. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Students stand on the frozen Faubus Fountain Lake. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- The Hill is white with snow in the sun. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Jacob’s Dream defrosts in the sunlight. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Snow covers the campus on Sunday. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Snow and ice make the Beauchamp Amphitheater slippery. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Students seek shelter in Edwards Hall. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- A student reads in the lobby of the Hunter Welcome Center, an emergency warming center, Tuesday evening. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Earl Rachal (Left), junior graphic design major from Abilene, plays video games with Alex Hock, (Right), sophomore multimedia major from Dallas. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Earl Rachal (Right), junior graphic design major from Abilene, plays video games with Alex Hock, (Left), sophomore multimedia major from Dallas. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- Aviel Weaver, senior psychology major from Aubrey, plays video games in the Hunter Welcome Center. (Photo by David Mitchell)
- A student watches his snowball fly across the campus mall toward his friends. (Photo by Emily Shafer)
- A student launches a snowball toward his friends in the campus mall. (Photo by Emily Shafer)
- Eleni Mote, senior marketing major from Cedar Park, shelters with a first-year student in Gardner Hall after days without power and water in her home. (Photo by Meghan Long)
- Bundled students sheltering from subzero temperatures in on-campus residence halls collect pre-packed meals and water bottles to take back to their rooms. (Photo by Meghan Long)
- Members of the Edwards Hall staff help remove water from Barret Hall after a pipe burst. (Photo by David Mitchell)