Every year I've somehow managed to forget how cold, long, and often painful the winter actually is in Geneva, New York. This year we had a beautiful fall on campus, and I was actually looking forward to seeing snow on the ground. Maybe I asked for too much, and this is a lesson that we should all be careful what we wish for. Hobart and William Smith students came back from break wearing light jackets and walking through the quad effortlessly without a hint of snow. "Maybe we got lucky this year with an easy winter," I thought to myself. I clearly jinxed it, and now we are all suffering in -10 degree weather. My family has been sending me texts saying, "How's the North Pole?" and I really feel as though I am in Antarctica and there's a chance that I'll run into penguins and polar bears on my way to class tomorrow.
According to CBS News, 80 million people in 11 states are dealing with the East Coast storm this weekend. With the drastic wind and snow delaying commuters, travel safety warnings are all over the news. Ryan Maue, a meterologist for WeatherBell Analytics, reported, "This [winter] is going to be one of those generational events, where your parents talk about how bad it was." According to AccuWeather, temperatures averaged from 10-30 degrees Fahrenheit below all over the northern states this past weekend--the coldest temperatures so far this winter. And just in case we all forgot what Geneva's mixture of wind and snow feels like when it slaps your face, we have all been quickly reminded.
"While the temperature may get as low as all of last winter in some places this weekend, the cold air will not linger like it did last weekend. Temperatures will rebound over much of the east to start next week," states AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams. New York's 10-day weather forecast predicts temperatures ranging from high 30s to low 50s, so it seems like New Yorkers are in the clear.
It's cold outside and stuffy inside, so make sure you start buying those Vitamin C packets and take this time to get ahead in your work! Thankfully, spring is the near future. Until then, stay warm and imagine yourself on a beach somewhere; at least that's what I'll be doing.
