After an unusually warm February, a wintry mix of snow and ice hit Abilene and the surrounding areas on Sunday leaving about an inch of snow.
Police reported several wrecks due to slick road conditions on Sunday night, and by 7 p.m. Abilene police were urging people to stay off the roads. However, these conditions were not enough for ACU or Abilene ISD to alter class schedules though many other Big Country schools delayed class. The snow and ice had almost completely melted by noon Monday.
Chief of Police Jimmy Ellison was relieved at the small impact the snow had on campus.
“We could have had it a lot worse. Temperatures hung just at the freezing point. If the temperatures had dropped just a few degrees colder, the amount of sleet, snow and freezing rain would have caused substantial accumulations on roadways,” Ellison said. “We dodged a bullet this time.”
Sing Song practices continued despite the snow on Sunday night to the relief of some students. Amy White, freshman act costume director, was glad that the snow didn’t interfere with their last week of practice.
White said, “The little snow we had was awesome, but we still needed to go to Sing Song practice and work hard since the show is this weekend.”
Though this was only Abilene’s second snow of the season, some students are accustomed to much less.
Garrett Lane, freshman youth and family ministry major from Fresno, doesn’t see much snow in his hometown and appreciated the small amount Abilene received.
“I don’t normally experience snowfall, but when I do it is an enchanting experience,” said Lane. “My comrades and I made the most of the snow.”
After the snowstorm on Feb. 1, 2011 that shut the university down for a week, some students thought Monday’s snow was anticlimactic. Rebecca Horton, junior English and marketing major from Weatherford, was one of these students.
Horton said, “It was a disappointment after last year’s snowpacalypse, but I’m glad that we can rely on Texas weather being bipolar.”
The forecast for this week calls for temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s with no other chance of snow in sight.
