Two years ago in late February we experienced some unusual weather in north Texas: temperatures dropped below freezing and precipitation ensued, thus icing over the roads. Because of the ice, most schools in Dallas were forced to close for about four days. Praised by the students who missed nearly a whole week, this beast of a storm was given many names, Snowtastrophe, Snowmageddon, even Snowpocalypse. Surely such a storm would never strike north Texas again.
But indeed it did. This past weekend from Friday to Monday, North Texas was perhaps met with an even bigger beast in what’s now being called Icepocalypse. It was the biggest winter storm to hit here since that fateful week in February of 2011. Jesuit was forced to close school on Friday and Monday, giving the community a long weekend.
Icepocalypse was a double-edged sword, some loved it while others despised it.
Students, of course, adored it. Icepocalypse for them was a beacon of hope, a ticket to a snowy paradise, an escape from the horrors of exams.
Many students, being completely stranded in their homes, temporarily threw away their textbooks and iPads, and instead sat on their couches like rotting potatoes, staring mindlessly for days into a flat-screen TV. This was probably accompanied by some hot chocolate, grandma’s ugly Christmas sweater, and plenty of junk food.
Some of the more ambitious, active students even went to go out and play in the “snow.” If you drove by St. Rita’s football field mid-afternoon on Monday, you probably saw a handful of boys playing tackle football. While this may not have been the safest way to spend a day (plowing each other into rock-solid ice), Sam Rosenberg ’14 said that it served as “a fun way to get out of the house and spend some time with friends.”
Football on the ice was not all fun and games for all. Jack Turner ’14 described his unfortunate experience:
“Well, on Sunday we thought the ice had melted enough to be able to get some kind of grip on the ground to play football, which looked so fun after the blizzard at the Lions vs. Eagles game, so some friends and I headed up to the field.
“About 5 minutes into throwing the ball around I went deep and the pass was slightly under thrown. As I went to slow down for the ball, my front (left) foot slipped out in front of me, and I fell back on top of my (right) ankle and twisted it and my knee around under my body. As it turns out, I broke my ankle and may have damaged some ligaments in my knee. I’ll know over the break how serious my knee injury is, but for now I know not to play football on ice again.”
There were many others who resented Icepocalypse. Some people lost power and were forced to either ride out the storm in the cold and dark or stay with a relative. A handful of people in the Dallas area tragically died in car crashes or other storm-related conditions.
Icepocalypse came at a random time this year, adhering to the unusual weather pattern of Texas. Three days before the storm, the temperature reached 79 as the sun was out and shining. Then Icepocalypse blasted through late on Thursday night, bringing freezing cold temperatures and lots of freezing rain and sleet.
Maybe we’ll see a close relative of Icepocalypse within the next few years, and maybe we won’t. But surely the next one won’t be nearly as bad, right?
