News Release | Community

UTRGV weathers icy blast, freezing temperatures

ICY BIKE: First, it snowed. Now – freezing rain! The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley delayed classes and campus activities until 9 a.m. on Jan. 17, to make sure students, faculty, staff and visitors had plenty of time to get to their respective campuses safely. Temperatures dipped into the low 30s, but the “real feel” temperatures were more Arctic – in the low 20s, in fact – making getting around campus a chilly enterprise. This icy bicycle seat on the Brownsville Campus says it all. (UTRGV Photo by David Pike)

Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Around Campus

By Amanda Taylor

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – Bicycles with icicles? Definitely not an everyday sight in the Rio Grande Valley. UTRGV campuses in the Upper Valley saw some minor ice, but Vaqueros on the Brownsville Campus were greeted by icicles from a strong winter freeze that pushed through Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.

Across the Valley, cars iced over and motorists dealt with bouts of sleeting rain as the winter front made its way across the area, and the National Weather Service reports that temperatures dipped to a 30-degree low overnight in Brownsville.

Due to dangerous conditions like icy roads and power outages, UTRGV sent emergency alerts to UTRGV faculty, staff and students, advising that classes and campus activities would be delayed until 9 a.m. Both campuses maintained regular schedules after the 9 a.m. start time.

Temperatures in Brownsville were expected to remain in the mid-40s throughout the rest of the week, reaching up to 75 degrees by Saturday.

ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.

Press Contact

Connect