Last Friday, Mother Nature showed once again who is in charge.
The weather reports for this storm, which had been changing almost
hourly, indicated that precipitation would be much lighter than
expected and that temperatures would rise above freezing early
in the morning on Friday. As we all know now, that didn't happen.
Temperatures rose at about 7 p.m. In spite of having crews and
equipment in at 3 a.m., we were unable to treat the more than
90 acres of parking lots at the last minute and in time for the
opening of the University.
Mishelle Micheals, a well-known meteorologist, states it best
in the latest issue of the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Sanctuary
magazine: "Because there are so many variables that can impact
the amount of snow - topography, how close the storm is to the
coast - predicting snowfall is one of the most stressful, high-impact
events for a forecaster. If you're ever feeling a sense of grandiosity,
just wait for winter. It will always humble you."
We apologize for the situation on Friday. All the data we had
showed that we'd be able to open at the normal time. Mother Nature
had other plans.
We've learned some lessons from this storm and will do better
next time.
R. MARC FOURNIER
assistant director,
Grounds Management
Physical Plant
