Campus Status and Emergency Information

Emergency Information

COLUMBUS CAMPUS TO CLOSE, CLASSES CANCELED

The National Weather Service is forecasting dangerous wind chills as low as 25 degrees below zero Wednesday morning and early afternoon. As a result, The Ohio State University Columbus campus will close Tuesday, January 29 at 11 p.m. and will reopen Thursday, January 31 at 7 a.m.

The health, safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff is our top priority. However, some essential services must remain in operation.

All classes and activities for Wednesday, January 30 are CANCELED. The Registrar’s Office will contact all instructors with additional details. Only essential staff should report to work, as scheduled. The following parking garages will be made available free of charge to staff: Arps, Lane Avenue, Ohio Union, South Campus Gateway, Tuttle, West Lane Avenue. 

The university will continue to monitor the weather to determine if additional cancellations or an extended campus closure is needed.

The Weather or Other Short-Term Closing Policy – 6.15 (link is external) outlines the process to cancel classes and/or close offices, reporting for work, and compensation during class cancellations and short-term closures. For more information, talk with your college/unit’s Human Resources Professional.

  • All Wexner Medical Center locations will remain OPEN.
  • Student Life’s Student Health Services (link is external) will remain OPEN.
  • Some campus dining facilities (link is external) will remain OPEN with limited operations.
  • The Ohio State University Optometry Services clinics will remain OPEN. 
  • Ohio State Dental Clinics will remain OPEN.
  • The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center (Columbus and Dublin) will remain OPEN normal hours and 24/7 for emergency care.
  • Campus Area Bus Service (CABS) will be limited to MC Express and Buckeye Lot staff parking. Riders can monitor buses in real-time via the Ohio State App (link is external).

Additional hours of operations and informational resources are listed below.

Please continue to check emergency.osu.edu (link is external) or @OSU_EMFP (link is external) on Twitter for updates.

SAFETY TIPS

Safety is our top priority. Please stay indoors unless it is necessary to travel. If you must travel on campus, please remember to take precautions.

  • Wear layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing.
  • Wear outer garments that are tightly woven, water repellent, and hooded.
  • Wear a hat – 40 percent of your body heat can be lost from your head.
  • Cover your mouth to protect your lungs from extreme cold.
  • Wear mittens that are snug at the wrist; mittens are better than gloves.
  • Try to stay dry and out of the wind.

When traveling around campus, remember that public transportation is available. You can find real-time CABS bus arrival information via the Ohio State app (link is external).

Riding COTA? Visit cota.com (link is external) for service info.

The university’s Department of Public Safety offers a real-time weather forecast online (link is external)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES / SERVICE HOURS

 

Information will be posted on this website during a campus emergency.

As the winter weather season continues, Ohio State’s Emergency Management team will continue to monitor weather and share significant updates with the university community. In addition, the system also sends severe weather alerts for tornado warnings. Information will be posted on this page and via Twitter @OSU_EMFP (link is external). For additional tips to help you prepare for winter weather, visit go.osu.edu/winterweathertips (link is external).

 

Follow Emergency Management on Twitter @OSU_EMFP

Preparing for Emergency Situations

If a Buckeye Alert is issued, information will be posted on this page and on Emergency Management’s Twitter account @OSUEMFP (link is external) and Facebook account (link is external).

Below is a brief overview of safety resources to help prepare you for emergency situations:

  • Active Aggressor Video
  • Safety Messaging Toolkit
  • About Alert Notices
  • Buckeye Alert Desktop Pop-ups

    • As an additional resource to provide the campus community with safety information, Buckeye Alerts will be shared via a pop-up message on select public desktop computers on campus. These computers include machines located in pool classrooms (those managed through University Registrar Classroom Scheduling), computer labs and libraries. The desktop pop-up message will contain the same information that is shared in Buckeye Alerts sent via text message. Users may close the message after it appears on their screen.