Bracing himself to leave his residence hall on Wednesday, Houston native Andres Ramirez '14 said he could not wait to see his first major snowfall. As he stepped outside, however, the reality of a New England snowstorm dissolved his enthusiasm.
"Now I just want it all to go away," Ramirez said, as he saw Dartmouth's campus buried under mounds of snow.
Hanover received over 14 inches of fresh powder Wednesday, an unusually high amount for one day.
The recent wave of heavy snowfall is part of a Northeastern storm system that began in the Midwest, according to the Weather Channel. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning alert for the entire New England area on Tuesday, noting that strong but predictable blizzard conditions were still anticipated for the remainder of the week.
On average, snowfall in the New Hampshire area ranges from 60 to 100 inches per year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. New Hampshire has already reached an average level of 55 inches of snow since Dec. 1.
In preparation for the storm, a number of professors and staff members were forced to make schedule adjustments, they said in interviews with The Dartmouth.
Sociology professor Denise Anthony said she canceled all classes for the day.
"It was only the second time in my career I have ever canceled classes due to the snow, " Anthony said. "It seemed like a good day to not be out on the road but I am glad that Dartmouth does not have to close down completely for the sake of the students."
Ramirez said two of his three classes were canceled.
"I was waiting in my pajamas for the blitz to come that my last class was canceled, so I wouldn't have to leave my dorm," Ramirez said.
While the cancellation of academic classes was left to the discretion of professors, all afternoon and evening Fitness and Lifestyle Improvement Program classes were either rescheduled or called off, according to Hugh Mellert, Director of the Fitness Center and FLIP.
"Our main concern revolves around the safety of the people traveling to our classes," Mellert said. "This is the first time this term we have had to cancel and it's extremely uncommon for us to do so."
The unpredictable force of this year's winter blowout has also diverted travel plans, according to students and faculty members.
"I have several job interviews in New York City and was supposed to leave on Tuesday," Kay Yi '11 said. "I decided to leave a day earlier to avoid the storm and so far everything has worked out. Professors have been really understanding about everything."
Evelynn Ellis, vice president of the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, said inclement weather prevented her from attending a "Transforming the Community" workshop at Emory University in Atlanta on Thursday.
"The workshop was invitation-only and an extremely important honor," Ellis said. "I have tried to get on every flight possible and they have all been canceled. But I'm trying not to whine. I'm a downhill skier and it's been a beautiful year for New England."
Several students interviewed by The Dartmouth expressed concern about the exceptionally snowy conditions, which have made completing daily on-campus tasks difficult.
"I have a car on campus and it's a huge hassle to attempt to clean it during these times," Vipul Borkar Th'11 said. "All of this snow is just extremely annoying."
Yet the snow remains an exciting and integral part of Dartmouth life for many students.
"It makes the ice rink seem a lot less cold," women's ice hockey player Erica Dobos '12 said. "And even better, it's great for snowball fights."
