On Tuesday, Oct. 26, in-person classes were canceled or moved to a virtual format due to severe weather conditions. Public Safety made these announcements to the Fordham community via email.

On Oct. 25, New York City put into effect a travel advisory that extended from the evening until the afternoon of the following day. Additionally, the National Weather Service put in place a flash flood warning for the city. Overall, the Fordham neighborhood received 4.73 inches of rain.

The storm that hit New York on Oct. 26 was classified as a Nor’easter, a large and aggressive storm that tends to occur on the East Coast of the U.S. and becomes most powerful and dangerous around the New England area or at the Maritime Provinces of Canada.

Despite the intensity of the storm, water damage and flooding on Fordham’s campuses was minimal which differs from the flooding Fordham experienced earlier in the semester that affected many campus buildings.

“Minor water damage occurred in a number of Rose Hill buildings, but all were immediately addressed by our Facilities Operations personnel,” said John Carroll, the associate vice president of Public Safety at Fordham. “Public Safety does repeated inspections of our facilities and reports their findings for Facilities for follow up.”

The decision to cancel classes was based on considerations regarding students’ and faculty’s ability to commute to campus safely and “checking multiple weather information sources,” according to Carroll.

“[We were] checking with NYC Emergency Management,” he explained. “Checking traffic sources for highway and roadway conditions regionally. Checking campus conditions. Checking MTA and regional railroads for transportation issues.”

The cancellation of in-person classes marks the second time that Fordham had to pause in-person instruction because of extreme weather conditions this semester.

“While not typical in past years, recent serious impacts [have been] observed from major rainfall events, mandating [that] we address it. Whether and how climate change plays a role in weather we experience here deserves consideration,” said Caroll.

The increase in storm intensity can be attributed to rising global temperatures. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, warmer sea temperatures fuel stronger storms, connecting more aggressive storms to climate change.

Fordham students have also noted the frequent cancellations of in-person classes due to rainfall.

“It feels like the storms we’ve been having are happening more often and are really strong,” said Madeline Ryan, FCRH ’24.

Ryan said that experiencing intense storms from tall buildings on campus can be intimidating.“I live on the top floor of my building, and while I don’t feel unsafe, sometimes it is a little nerve-wracking being so high up while it’s storming,” explained Ryan. “Especially in this most recent storm, I was worried about flood damage to the building or to my room since there seemed to be a lot after the last storm.”

Going forward, Public Safety advises students to continue to be aware of possible hazardous weather conditions around the city and plan their commutes and schedules accordingly in order to ensure their safety.

“Students would be well served to consider the messages sent and act accordingly to enhance their individual and collective safety during weather events,” said Carroll.