Scenes from snowfall before students' first day of spring semester

Photos by Emma Klein, Sophie Roehse, Jacob Berton, Stratton Marsh and Ankit Agrawal.

Many students enjoyed the snowfall that hit Grounds before the first day of classes for the spring semester by taking to the Lawn on Sunday. University President Jim Ryan announced a snow sculpture building contest — prizes for which include tickets to a basketball game this season, President's box tickets to a football game or a s'mores-making gathering with four friends, President Ryan and Dean of Students Allen Groves.

National Weather Services issued a Winter Storm Warning for the City of Charlottesville and surrounding areas, predicting the Sunday snowfall. Groves addressed the impending weather and its potential impact on University services in a University-wide email Saturday afternoon. Given that many classes will be held fully online this semester — only 27 percent have an in-person component — the University may continue with virtual classes, Groves said, even if in-person instruction is not possible. On Monday, Chief Operations Officer J.J. Davis announced that all in-person activity before 10 a.m. was suspended, though patient care services and synchronous online classes began as normal.

Any changes to the University’s operating status will be posted on the @UVA_EM Twitter account and on the Academic Operations Status Board.