On Sunday, January 25, 2026, Union and the Capital Region experienced 12-18 inches of snowfall. This significantly altered campus operations on Monday, January 26, 2026, and altered some operations going into Tuesday, January 27. Other universities in the Capital Region handled the snowstorm similarly to Union.
Snowfall during the winter term is common at Union, but a foot of snow at once is uncommon. On Friday, January 23, NY governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency due to this significant winter storm. Because of the snowfall, a significant number of streets in Schenectady were blocked out with snow.
“Staff who provide essential services, such as those in dining, facilities and campus safety, will be expected to report for work as usual on Monday [January 26]. Most other administrative offices will be closed for on-campus activities.” Annette Diorio, the Dean of Students, said in an email sent to the campus community.
However, in terms of classes, “Classes will be held at the discretion of the faculty and any changes to the class schedule will be communicated to you by individual faculty members. In the absence of instructions otherwise, you should plan for classes to be held in-person on Monday.”
Though Union did not issue a blanket cancellation of classes for January 26, many students had classes cancelled or held on ZOOM instead of in person. RPI and University at Albany issued similar guidance about cancelled classes and administrative offices, while Siena University cancelled all classes and closed all administrative offices.
“Monday and Tuesday two of my classes went online,” Melika Niakosari ‘27 said. “One of my classes and one of my labs got completely canceled and rescheduled, and I also had an exam rescheduled. I heard from a professor that they haven’t canceled class in 30 years.”
“My morning class [on Monday] got canceled and my afternoon class was all online, so I pretty much just spent the whole day in my room,” Lukas Spitz-Chapman ‘27 said.
Despite the snowstorm, certain college staff had to report to work, including dining workers. However, several dining locations were closed on January 25 and 26 because workers had difficulty getting to campus. Dutch Hollow and the Garlic Nott were closed on January 25, and the Starbucks, 807 Deli, and Rathskeller were closed on January 26.
“Sunday night was bad in terms of getting Uber, and there were a lot of cancellations,” Shante, one of Union’s dining workers, said. “But it definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it would’ve been.”
Union facilities staff cleared major campus walkways throughout the day on January 26, and snow plows cleared the streets surrounding Union’s campus by Monday afternoon. All dining locations and administrative offices were open with normal hours on Tuesday, January 27.
This weekend, another possible snowstorm could hit the Capital Region, but it is unclear whether it actually will. “As of today, it is very difficult to tell if the storm will impact our area here,” National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Villani told The Times Union on January 27. “We may not get a single snowflake, or we could get several inches.”
