Tropical Storm Nicholas - Sept. 13, 2:00 pm

Tropical Storm Nicholas is forecast to intensify as it approaches the Houston area this evening. With the storm expected to continue producing bands of heavy rain throughout our area until at least midday Tuesday, the university will take the following precautions:

All classes and other instructional activities will be conducted remotely through the end of the day on Tuesday, Sept. 14. Please visit teaching.rice.edu for remote teaching resources. Classes for which remote instruction is not possible will be able to schedule a makeup meeting. The provost will provide more information on this soon.

All staff whose presence on campus is not essential during this weather event will be released early today, at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, and they should work remotely if possible on Tuesday.

• Street flooding is possible throughout the area. If your car has a Rice parking sticker and you live near campus or you usually park in the West Lot, you’re welcome to move your car to the upper floors of the Cambridge Office Building / Entrance 3 parking garage. If you decide to park in the garage and your parking sticker usually doesn’t allow you to park there, you need to park on either the 5th, 6th or 7th floor.
• Campus bus service will end at 5 p.m. Monday and is anticipated to resume by noon Tuesday, if the weather allows.
• The Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center will close at 7 p.m. Monday and reopen at noon Tuesday, if the weather allows.
• The Fondren Library will close at 5 p.m. Monday and reopen at noon Tuesday, if the weather allows.
• The Rice Student Center will also close at 5 p.m. Monday and reopen at noon Tuesday, if the weather allows.
• Retail dining operations on campus will be limited. Please go to dining.rice.edu for the most current information about which services are available.
• COVID-19 testing for tomorrow has been canceled. You can reschedule your test here for later in the week.
• Flu shots scheduled for Tuesday at the Cambridge Office Building will be rescheduled. Notification of the new scheduling date will be forthcoming.

In general, we want to encourage anyone who doesn’t need to be on campus to stay off the roads and stay away from the campus during this tropical storm. Please use your good judgment and stay safe.

We’ll continue monitoring the storm’s progress and keep you updated as it passes through the Houston area. Thank you for helping us keep our campus safe.

Rice Crisis Management Team