SUMMARY: UNC-Chapel Hill closing at 2 p.m. today. Classes will be cancelled, offices closed. Condition III begins at 2 p.m.

CHAPEL HILL – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will close today (Sept. 18) because of the latest weather conditions for this afternoon during drive time associated with Hurricane Isabel.

At 2 p.m. classes will be cancelled, offices will be closed and the university will operate under condition III in its list of adverse weather scenarios. Night classes are cancelled. Emergency employees should report to work.

University officials currently expect to reopen at 8 a.m. Friday (Sept. 19) following assessments to determine campus conditions.

Chapel Hill Transit buses, including those from campus park-and-ride lots, will run until 5 p.m. today. Point-to-Point Express buses will not operate tonight.

Students should shelter in place by staying inside residence halls or off-campus housing.

Employees are reminded about the adverse weather policy. Details are at http://www.ais.unc.edu/hr/spaman/section11/sec11-adverse.htm.

More information about the university’s operational status is available at www.unc.edu, the main university Web page, or the Department of Public Safety Web site http://www.dps.unc.edu/dps/.

Members of the university community also can call (919) 843-1234 for recorded information and announcements about the university’s operations. Similar information also is broadcast on the university’s Traveler's Information System, 1610 AM, near the main campus area. Details on the condition of campus parking lots and the status of Chapel Hill Transit are available at the Department of Public Safety Web site http://www.dps.unc.edu/dps/.

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Contacts: News Services, (919) 962-2091; (919) 216-2584 (on-call pager)