By Lauren Holcomb | Reporter
Waco temperatures are beginning to drop below their regular hot and humid. The current weather in Waco brings temperature highs relative to the average Texas low, hitting around 50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit — and some days even lower. While native Texan students are having a hard time adjusting, the cold reminds many students from northern states of home.
Surprisingly to Texan students, there is an out-of-state population that finds walking to class in near-freezing temperatures comforting.
Pueblo, Colo., freshman Jalynn Sharp experiences much colder weather back home. For Sharp, the “warmer” cold temperatures in Waco created more of a culture shock when returning to snowy Colorado.
“I was more accustomed to the cold at the beginning of the winter season in Waco, but then going home for break, I was not used to the Colorado cold anymore,” Sharp said. “The weather right now in Pueblo is about 20 to 30 degrees colder than it is in Waco on average. I have been enjoying the colder Waco weather because it makes it feel more like home here.”
However, not all out-of-state students want to be reminded of the chilly temperatures of their hometown.
In Milbank, S.D., freshman Jessica VanPeursem’s experience, South Dakota’s cold weather calls for time indoors. While in Waco, however, she spends much of her time outside to walk to classes and social events across campus.
“I’m used to negative 25 [degrees], 35 miles an hour wind chills, where basically, you don’t go outside during that,” VanPeursem said. “But in Waco, you know, we’re outside and walking to class all the time. I feel the cold more here because I’m in it. Back home, if we thought, ‘Oh, it’s cold outside,’ we weren’t leaving the house.”
Contrarily, there are students like Houston freshman Anna Bernal who are accustomed to the usual heat. For students like Bernal, any temperature below 60 degrees Fahrenheit can seem like a freeze.
“I hate the cold,” Bernal said. “I’m from Houston, so I’m used to it being really hot and humid all the time. It was literally 80 degrees on Christmas. I am not a fan of freezing while I’m walking to class, and it makes me want to stay in my bed and just not go at all. It ruins my mood.”
VanPeursem said that she does not relate to the comfort Texan students find in the humidity and that feeling wet right when she leaves her dorm is not a sensation she is used to or enjoys.
“The humidity was definitely a shock to me when I first got to Texas,” VanPeursem said. “South Dakota cold and Texas cold are a lot different, but the cold feels a lot more like home than the humidity.”
