As crystalline snowflakes drift gently to the cold ground, Texans lace up skates, strap on skis, and lug sleds uphill.
Over the weekend, Central Texas was hit by severe weather warnings, plummeting temperatures and several inches of snow and ice. School was canceled on Monday and Tuesday, giving students time to enjoy the rare Texas weather.
“My family was prepared for whatever happened,” junior Jude Huerta said. “We had a bunch of food in our pantry and plenty of warm clothes.”
The storm started last Saturday, a mix of freezing rain and sleet fell over the state. Areas of Central Texas recorded 0.11 inches of ice and 0.8 inches of sleet according to the National Weather Service.
“Right now my refrigerator is completely full and stocked up with sausages,” freshman Johan Radu said. “It’s gonna last me a couple months now.”
In preparation for the storm, families stocked up on whatever they could find, emptying grocery store shelves in a matter of hours.
“My dad works at H-E-B,” Radu said. “He told me the entire egg and toilet paper stocks were completely empty before the storm.”
With four days to kill and nowhere to go, students had plenty of time to lounge and relax.
“I made chai, matcha and hot cocoa,” Huerta said. “I got to hang out with my little sister too.”
Some students made use of the circumstances, like freshman Isaiah Berger who went sledding at Running Brushy Middle School with his family.
“The hills at RBMS are great,” Berger said. “We live right by the school and have some sleds so we took advantage of that.”
