From my first day to being at home to the current date, there has been snow, and more continues to fall. Now, when I was younger (like last year) and still in grade school, I looked forward to snow because it meant a two hour delay or a closure, and an excuse to go outside and play. And since being at home, I have done my fair share of playing. In between taking turns shoveling the drive way, our family has had numerous snow ball fights (note, my mom is scary accurate with a snowball), and sledding adventures at the local hills. But, after being outside and getting a generous amount of snow in my jacket and nearly freezing to death, you can only have so much fun playing in the snow and seeing more fall down from the sky. After nearly a month of snow, the energetic reaction it usually brings has worn down just a bit. However, having snow combined with record temperatures in the negatives is a little better since you have snow to show for your misery in the winter weather.

To continue with the topic of snow, we have been dumped on. In the past, we have been lucky to get several inches (5 or 6) at most, but never could I have seen what has hit us this winter. In the Tri-Cities, the record snowfall was set in 1955-56 at 24.6 inches, and to date, we have hit 23.1 inches with more snow/wintery mixes to come in the near future. Not only is this crazy, but it shows how sudden weather can change.

But with snow on the ground, there are some associated dangers. Across the Tri-Cities, there have been numerous accidents with pileups, and people getting stuck left and right. But what is more concerning, is how people continue to drive at normal speed with several inches of slippery, packed snow on the highways. Semi-trucks have passed me while driving, and as soon as there is any snow on the ground, it seems that people throw common sense out the window and forget how to drive. It isn’t rocket science that we all must increase following distances and reduce speed when there are less than desirable conditions on roadways. I know that I’m no professional with years of winter driving experience (actually my first year driving in the snow alone), but I’ve seen numerous accidents occur in front of me that could have been easily avoided. Everybody, please stay safe, and use common sense.

In addition to hazardous road conditions, the sudden snow has also meant a shortage of essential winter supplies such as ice melt and snow shovels (and snow sleds) at many local stores. For example, at a local ACE Hardware, the store has sold more shovels in one month than the store has in one year. And with such high demand, some people have reported seeing locals reselling ice melt online at higher prices. With stories like this, it seems like the end is near since stores are selling out and people are lining up for ice melt like many do for a new iPhone.

Overall, yes, I love the snow and all the memories that can be had with it, but with my winter break coming to an end, I look forward to being back on campus where it’s not in the single digits every time I go outside. It’ll also be nice to play basketball outside instead of being stuck indoors playing NBA 2K. I hope everyone has had an awesome winter break, and stay warm, and drive safe.