BRIDGEWATER, Va. – A winter storm that began the evening of Jan. 24 and continued through Jan. 25 dropped 7.5 inches of snow on Bridgewater College, according to Fox 5 DC, canceling classes and disrupting campus operations.
By Sunday night, snow covered nearly every walkway and parking lot, leaving students navigating limited mobility and sudden schedule changes.
“At first, I was excited [when the storm hit], everyone loves the snow,” second-year student Makayla Harris said. “But then it just kept coming. Then the sleet came, and I just knew everyone would be stuck for a bit.”
The combination of heavy snow and sleet left campus operations at a standstill. Students took advantage of this by spending their time outside in the snow. On Monday, students were outside the Funkhouser Center and sliding down its hill.
“I’m not one for school, if we’re not having school, while we’re supposed to be having it,” Jayden Hendricks, another Bridgwater student, said. “I’m pretty excited about it regardless of what’s going on.”
Despite the closures, dining services remained open, creating challenges for staff responsible for maintaining operations during the storm.
“I would say making sure my staff gets here safely,” the dining hall’s assistant director of operations, Natalie Korinko, said when asked about her concerns. “It’s a big responsibility, but we’re down for it. We want to make sure the students are taken care of.”
The snowstorm that reached Bridgewater turned to sleet overnight, creating heavier and icier conditions to manage the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Throughout the week, several areas remained only partially cleared, restricting accessibility as students and faculty navigated hazardous conditions while crews worked to restore safe access.
Campus police cited safety concerns as the primary reason for canceling classes.
“It’s staying cold, temperatures aren’t getting above freezing, the ice is not melting,” Chief of campus police Jonathan Shenk said. “How safe is it? What are the conditions of the sidewalks? Making sure the sidewalks are as passable as they could be.”
It remains unclear how long these icy conditions will last. As crews continue working to clear the campus, students and faculty are waiting to see when conditions will improve.
Frigid temperatures are expected through the first week of February, according to AccuWeather.
