Persistent cold temperatures once again led UNI to cancel more than a day’s worth of face-to-face classes this week. 

Citing “extremely cold temperatures and strong winds,” the university on Sunday announced that all in-person classes for Monday, Feb. 15 would either be cancelled or held virtually. Later on Monday, the same decision was made for all classes starting before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

The campus also functioned on reduced operations on Tuesday morning. Classes  resumed as normal on Tuesday afternoon.

In total, UNI students have missed three full days of in-person classes (Jan. 26, Feb. 4 and Feb. 15), in addition to evening classes on Jan. 25 and morning classes on Feb. 16, since the spring 2021 semester began.

Much of eastern Iowa, including Black Hawk County, broke local records for the coldest Valentine’s Day in history on Sunday, Feb. 14, as even the day’s high temperatures remained below zero degrees. 

The frigid temperatures were part of a larger winter storm system which swept the Midwest and Great Plains regions, bringing unusually cold and snowy conditions to areas as far south as Texas and knocking out power to millions of people.