UWEM Timeline
July 13, 2021
Hottest Day Ever in Seattle (June 28, 2021)
On June 28, 2021, the third day of a withering heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, the temperature in Seattle soars to 108 degrees, an all-time record. The reading is recorded at nearby Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which began keeping official records for Seattle in November 1948, and the 108-degree mark is the city’s highest temperature…
March 6, 2020
January 21, 2020 – Fall 2021: UW’s response to the global COVID-19 pandemic
When an unknown viral outbreak started in Wuhan, China in mid-December 2019, most Seattle’ites never heard of the (new) novel coronavirus or COVID-19 communicable disease. Within a month, the virus had spread throughout the world and became a pandemic. The first COVID-19 case in the US was found in Everett on January 21, 2020. By…
September 9, 2019
September 7, 2019: Lightning storm sends Cal-Washington football game into lengthy delay
The unprecedented game delay of 2-hours and 38-minutes meant that the game did not end until after1am the next morning. Local news coverage reported that fewer than 10,000 fans remained to watch the game’s conclusion. A record number of lightning strikes in Western Washington, along with brief heavy rainfall, thunder and winds, caused localized flooding,…
May 20, 2019
May 2, 2019 – July 2019 (Accidental Radiological Spill Forces Extended Closure of Harborview Research & Training Building)
During a planned decommissioning of a piece of medical equipment, federal cleanup contractors accidentally spilled a small amount of highly-radioactive materials inside of the Harborview Research and Training Building. As a result and to ensure the safety of occupants and nearby personnel, the entire building was closed during the remediation and cleanup process. A Los…
February 5, 2019
February 4-13, 2019 (Record-Setting Lowland Snowstorm and Ice Trigger Closures)
Though forecasts for Seattle predicted a trace to 1″ of snow, UW students, faculty and staff woke February 4 to 2″- 4″ of snow in Seattle (and up to 10 inches in the cities to the North and East). All three UW campuses suspended operations after an assessment of transportation conditions. The snowfall, coupled with…
May 15, 2018
May 15, 2018 (Student Employee Protest)
Nearly 1,000 undergraduate and graduate student employees, members of the UW Academic Student Employee Union (affiliated with UAW local 4121) conducted a daylong series of marches, protests and rallies on the Seattle campus. Utilizing the non-violent tactic of blocking key traffic and road intersections in/out of campus, the protesters were demanding increases in pay and…
March 23, 2018
February 10, 2018 Patriot Prayer Rally
A large rally, demonstration and counter-protests were held on Red Square on Saturday, February 10, 2018. The UW College Republicans invited the Patriot Prayer Group to campus for a public rally and march throughout campus. Other counter-protesters also converged on campus. An estimated 400-600 persons clashed on Red Square with a heavy police presence. Only…
February 13, 2018
February 20, 2018 (Campus Protests)
A large-scale, planned demonstration by the Patriot Prayer group in Red Square attracted an estimated 400 protesters and counter-protesters. A heavy police presence supplemented by a week of intense planning by campus departments, ensured that this rally and demonstration was peaceful. The UW’s EOC was activated. 5 arrests were made, various planned events were cancelled…
August 31, 2017
August 31, 2017 (Campus Power Outage)
A series of sporadic regional power outages impacted the areas adjacent to the UW campus. Beginning at 9:40 am and ending around 2:00 pm, these Seattle City Light power “spikes” and temporary outages caused the UW Power Plant to shut down twice for a short period of time. Many off-campus residence halls east of campus…
February 6, 2017
February 6, 2017 (Rare Lowland Snowstorm Shuts down City & UW
A predicted snowstorm shut down the entire Puget Sound region on Monday, February 6th with the central Seattle area receiving between 4-9″ of snow. All 3 UW campuses cancelled classes and suspended operations for the day. Limited power outages and road/transportation delays occurred throughout the region as reported by local media sources. Damage was limited…
Next page