A week of extreme weather conditions came to a climactic end Friday, with icy conditions, postponed classes and a frigid north wind.

Temperatures on Jan. 22 reached a near record high of 85 degrees in Abilene; on Friday, temperatures struggled to reach the freezing mark, prompting university officials to push the start of classes back to 10 a.m. that morning. ACU Chief of Police Jimmy Ellison and his department work in conjunction with the offices of the president and provost, the vice president of Student Life and Human Resources to determine whether classes should be postponed.

“In this case we start monitoring local and outlying roads at 4:30 a.m,” Ellison said. “We look at the conditions of streets, as well as bridges and overpasses because they ice up quicker. We look for travel safety, and we see what TXDOT crews and city street crews are doing.”

Ellison emphasized the decision to delay classes is not solely his. He said discoveries of ice, Abilene Independent School District delays and input from other offices all play a role in the decision to delay start times.

Torrential downpours all day Thursday preceded Friday’s icy conditions. Nearly 2.5 inches of rain were recorded at the Abilene Regional Airport yesterday, closing roads and flooding campus. The Abilene Police Department reported road closures the length of Treadaway Boulevard, and several citywide wrecks.

“Abilene does not have the best drainage systems. When it rains there are certain intersections that always maintain water,” said Abilene Assistant Police Chief Doug Wrenn. “Couple the rain with freezing temps, and it’s a recipe for disaster every time.”

National Weather Service Meteorologist Mark Cunningham said recent conditions could be attributed to the weather phenomenon, El Niño. The NWS reported Abilene sees 3.8 inches of snow in a typical winter, but an average of 7.4 inches of snowfall can be expected during an El Niño winter.

“An El Niño winter for us typically means below average temperatures and above average precipitation,” Cunningham said. “Abilene has already seen more than 5 inches of snow, so that’s already above average for a normal winter.”

Winter weather is likely over, at least for a while, Cunningham said. He said the next weather front to move into the Big Country will likely be rain because of potentially warmer conditions. The NWS in San Angelo is calling for a chilly Sunday with temperatures hovering around 40 degrees, but Monday should reach temperatures near 60 degrees.