“I really can’t stay.” “But baby it’s cold outside.” But is it really that cold? Maybe not to Midwesterners, but what about students from the warm South? La Crosse experienced an extreme drop in temperatures, the lowest being -19 °F on February 15. Viterbo University students did what they could to withstand the frigid weather.
Assuming students from the South were probably shocked about the sudden change, I went ahead and asked some students from Southern states about their experience with the extreme winter weather and other questions involving Wisconsin winters.
Payton Harper, second–year music theatre major, is from Georgia. When asked what her first thoughts were about moving to Wisconsin, Harper said, “I never thought Wisconsin would be a place I would end up going to college to. It was kind of a shock to be honest. I was, however, convinced that I had experienced cold weather, so I was going to be okay. I was also so tired of people only asking me if I was nervous for the winter and not about moving far away from my family and starting college. I see now that the winter is a big part of life up here.”
As to what her thoughts were on the recent extreme drop in temperatures in February, Harper replied, “It was just so cold. Anything that was exposed was just frozen. I had a hard time keeping my ankles warm, but I wore lots of long socks and made sure my jeans went all the way down. My ears were also so cold, all the time. I started to not ever leave my apartment unless I had a hat on.”
Harper then recounted her first Wisconsin snowfall, “I had seen wimpy snow, living in Georgia, but I had never seen snowflakes this big. I just remember being so shocked at how beautiful it was and how pretty it looked on the courtyard and on top of buildings.”
As for what prepared Harper for the sudden drop in temperature, she stated, “I’m not sure if there was anything specific. I heard people talking about how cold it was going to get, so it wasn’t a surprise. I had hats and gloves and scarves from last year. I would say I just knew from my first Wisconsin winter that anything exposed was going to be cold, so I knew I was going to have to stay covered.”
Another person fighting the cold is Abby Seim, second-year music theatre major. Seim is from Texas. When also asked about the cold—Seim was not afraid to express her thoughts. Seim’s first thought after moving to Wisconsin was, “Cold.” “Happiness quickly followed by regret,” were her words on her first Wisconsin snowfall.
When asked about her thoughts on the temperature drop, Seim stated, “I would rather choke than see –16 degrees on my weather app again.” She explained that “Absolutely nothing” prepared her for the cold, “[she] was a sitting duck.”
Hoping Seim had some highlights to share with the Lumen, she was asked her favorite and least favorite thing(s) about Wisconsin winters. “My favorite thing is actually nothing,” said Seim, “my least favorite thing is how dry it is, my hair is so static, and my hands are as crack as the asphalt in the Nevada desert.”
In the eyes of these two, it was very cold outside. Ask your friends from the south how they are taking in the winter weather and make sure they are prepared for the next big drop in temperatures, or they just might have to stay in the South where it is warm.
