By Reagan Ebb | Staff Writer
New England students experienced troubles at home during the brutal winter storm dubbed the “Bomb Cyclone” which hit at the middle of winter break.
East Winthrop, Maine, senior Rebecca Richards experienced the New England storm firsthand.
“Bomb Cyclone made my break longer, so that was fun, but also stressful,” Richards said.
Because of the storm, most airlines shut down all outgoing flights, leaving everyone stranded in New England. Many students struggled to find a flight to Texas in time for spring semester to begin.
“If the airline hadn’t given a free rescheduling, it would have been a lot worse,” Richards said.
Up in Maine, the weather was much more extreme than Texas weather. In some parts of Portland, Maine, the ocean froze over. Richard said her house received more than 3 feet of snow and temperatures stayed in the negatives.
“We actually gauged it by these lawn chairs, before the storm you could see the legs but they were covered by the end of the day,” Richards said.
To stay warm, Richards said her and her sisters cuddled around a space heater with Italian ice and watched Snoop Sisters, a detective show from the ’70s.
Taunton, Mass., junior Maggie Sheehan said her storm experience was more stressful than fun and that the temperatures were so cold her car wouldn’t start.
“I have never experienced weather like this,” Sheehan said.
Slightly less than the 36 inches of snow in Maine, Taunton received 17 inches of snow, with temperatures remaining around 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
“That’s not including wind chill,” Sheehan said.
In more central regions such as Worcester, Mass., wind chill temperatures dropped to -45 degrees. Sheehan said to keep from boredom from being stuck inside, she and her family spent time playing board games and re-watching Fixer Upper.
Farmington, Conn., junior Mike Ambrosio said his Cyclone experience wasn’t notable. From the Eastern side of the state, Connecticut did not receive as brutal weather conditions as the other northern states.
“I was kind of hoping it would be cold enough to freeze the ponds to play ice hockey,” Ambrosio said.
While Connecticut did have a foot of snowfall and temperatures in the singles, the cold was not enough for thick enough ice to form.
“My garage doesn’t have insulation, so we pretty much used that as our refrigerator,” Ambrosio said.
He said Connecticut had no problems with airlines. There were more customers than usual but nothing was canceled.
The Bomb Cyclone winter storm hit New England students unexpectedly. Luckily for New Englanders, frigid weather is not unknown. Although the storm may have caused delays for students traveling back to Waco, Northerners still managed to find ways to enjoy the storm.
