UNH prepares for Winter Storm Nemo

UPDATE: UNH announced early Friday morning that that curtailed operations would go into effect on 5 a.m. on Friday, not 12 p.m. All classes on Friday are now cancelled. 

With Winter Storm Nemo bearing down on New England, the University of New Hampshire announced on Thursday that the school would curtail operations on Friday. 

Some students were looking forward to the prospects of blizzard conditions to start the weekend.

“I’m excited,” senior Sarah Mead said. “We haven’t seen a storm like this in a while.”

The latest weather reports have Nemo dumping upwards of two feet on southern New Hampshire and most of Massachusetts, with snow starting to fall early on Friday afternoon and lasting well into Saturday. A winter storm watch is posted for much of southern New Hampshire starting on Friday afternoon, and the coastal area of the state is under a blizzard warning. According to WMUR.com, some isolated locations in southern New Hampshire could see as much as 30 inches of snowfall from the Nor’easter.

Senior Dan Finnegan said that he wasn’t concerned about Nemo, saying he was more worried about his quiz at 9 a.m. on Friday that hasn’t been cancelled.

“Sometimes they get hyped up a lot,” Finnegan said of winter storms. “Meteorologists aren’t always right.”

Even if the heavy snowfall predictions prove true, many students weren’t too worried, saying they’re used to this kind of weather in New England.

“I’m pretty confident, being a Massachusetts guy,” graduate student Mike Verney said. “I’ll probably just hunker down with my girlfriend and watch some movies.”

Due to the university closing at noon on Friday, the UNH Registrar’s Office has extended the add/drop period for classes until 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The original deadline was this Friday.

The full winter parking ban will be in effect at UNH on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Curtailed operations will be lifted at 4 a.m. on Sunday. More information can be found on UNH’s website at www.unh.edu.