Hurricane Harvey made landfall Friday night near Rockport, Texas. Now a tropical storm, Harvey is gradually weakening and continues to move slowly northwest. The storm's path is still uncertain, but forecasters expect at least 15 inches of rain in the Houston area in the days ahead. Flooding and tornadoes remain a significant risk.

In anticipation of continual bands of heavy rainfall throughout the weekend, Rice will remain closed through 11:59 p.m. Sunday. A decision about the university's operating status for Monday will be made Sunday morning after the Crisis Management Team reviews the weather updates.

Brochstein Pavilion is open today until 6 p.m. and will be open Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Seibel and North serveries will be open for dinner tonight from 4:45 to 6:15 p.m.

All four serveries (North, South, West and Seibel) will be open for brunch Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and for dinner Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m.

Fondren Library will be open Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. for Rice students, staff and faculty only. A Rice I.D. is required for entry.

We are monitoring weather and building conditions carefully in areas where our off-campus graduate students reside. We are developing contingency plans in case worsening conditions warrant a change in our current approach.

Additional shuttle service to the grocery will be available to graduate students at the Rice Village Apartments (RVA) and Rice Graduate Apartments (RGA) Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. More details will come later.

Facilities Engineering and Planning has arranged for a crew to stay on campus throughout the weekend so they can check each building for flooding and other issues during heavy rainfall.

Although the campus is not currently experiencing rainfall, the weather can change quickly as Harvey moves across Texas. We strongly recommend that you remain in your current location and avoid the risk of traveling and getting caught in an unsafe situation.

We are so impressed with how faculty, students and staff have responded to the challenges that Harvey is posing. We are grateful to be part of this wonderful community.

If you have comments or questions, send an email to cmtcomment@rice.edu.

Kevin Kirby
Vice President for Administration
Chair of the Crisis Management Team

Provost Marie Lynn Miranda