Updated, 6:30 a.m.

A powerful winter storm prompted Cornell to delay its opening and cancel some classes Friday morning.

The University will open at 9:30 a.m., and classes will begin at 10:10 a.m. Classes scheduled for 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. will not meet.

TCAT bus service, which had been suspended last night, was running on a normal schedule Friday morning, according to the University. All other University transit services were also operating on schedule.

Let it snow: - By: Diego Olvera

The University has requested that "essential personnel" report to work on time if the weather conditions allow them to travel safely.

Although Cornell officials said last night that the University would remain open, administrators decided around 6 a.m. that weather conditions warranted the delayed opening, according to Claudia Wheatley, director of press relations.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Ithaca and surrounding communities which is in effect until noon on Friday.

Last night, Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response issued a travel advisory. The City of Ithaca also activated its Emergency Snow Route protocol, which makes it illegal to park on certain priority routes around the city, including College Ave. and Ithaca Rd. in Collegetown. Cars parked on either road will be at risk of being towed.

The National Weather Service forecasted 10-20 inches of heavy, wet snow and “near blizzard conditions,” according to its travel advisory. The snow was expected to accumulate at a rate of one to three inches per hour. “Road crews are working hard to keep up” with the heavy snowfall, the advisory said.

Several blizzards this winter caused other universities, such as Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, to officially close and give their students the day off. Princeton students enjoyed a snow day on Feb. 11, when a blizzard landed them over a foot of snow, according to the Daily Princetonian. The last time Cornell had a snow day was in 2007, when the mayor of Ithaca declared a “snow emergency,” according to Sun archives.

A variety of University officials must come to an agreement regarding whether to close the University.

“It's a team decision,” Simeon Moss '73, deputy University spokesperson said Thursday night. “Facilities and the executive leadership work together to determine whether the University should be closed.”

The officials held a conference call last night at 8 p.m. to discuss closing the University, but decided to keep it open, Moss said. He made clear, however, that professors can cancel individual classes at their own discretion.

TCAT reacted to the snow by ending bus service after 8 p.m. TCAT directors warned passengers to “stay off the road,” according to a Winter Weather Advisory on the TCAT website. Although TCAT buses continued to run during the afternoon, the heavy snowfall caused delays “throughout the day.”

In addition to some canceled classes, many events on campus were postponed Thursday. The Department of Theatre, Film and Dance had planned to hold an open forum for students to provide the department with feedback on Arts and Science Dean Peter LePage's proposed budget cuts, but the department chose to postpone the forum until Tuesday. Several afternoon lectures, including “The United Nations Programme on Public Administration and Development,” which featured Haiyan Qian, the United Nations director of Public Administration and Development, were also canceled. Moss said that the University often decides to cancel events because the roads are too snowy for lecturers who come from out of town to make it to Ithaca.

The County’s weather advisory urged residents to stockpile enough food for 72 hours. Similarly, a press release by the City of Ithaca cautioned city residents to “put together an emergency preparedness kit,” including items like bottled water, a radio and a first-aid kit. The press release concluded with a warning not to use a gas stove for heat, as this could cause “harmful levels” of carbon monoxide to be released.

The 6:30 p.m. Campus-to-Campus bus from New York City was also canceled. According to David Lieb, assistant director of transportation services, "all passengers scheduled for that bus were informed by voice message to their cell phones at 7:30 a.m., and then were each individually contacted and accommodated on a different trip, or assisted with a cancelation." The Cornell Weather Advisory urged people to “use caution while traveling.”

Home goods stores did see brisk business today, as people rushed to buy tools to combat the snow.

“We’re getting low on shovels, and we’ve got only a handful of snowblowers left,” said Home Depot assistant manager Luke Petrinec told The Ithaca Journal.

The article originally stated that Campus-to-Campus was canceled after 6:30. It was in fact just the bus coming back from New York City that was canceled. The Sun regrets this error.