Around early February, a storm dubbed “Groundhog Snowstorm” —due to it having occurred on February 2, Groundhog Day—spread across the country. Traveling through the South and Midwest and eventually reaching Maine, the storm covered 2,000 miles and impacted 19 states along the way. More than 91 million people received a winter weather warning or advisory, and several states suffered from the extreme weather.
One part of New Mexico received more than 3 feet of snow while several Midwestern states received more than a foot of snow. Several states in the Northeast received up to 24 inches. The widespread storm caused dangerous road conditions in many places, including states from Arkansas through Ohio. In New Mexico, one person died after a car fell 100 feet down a mountain in Bernalillo County, and a chain-reaction crash killed another person in Guadalupe County. Many states reacted to these dangerous road conditions. Illinois closed several highways due to wrecks, and Arkansas ordered their state officers to go change to teleworking The storm also canceled thousands of flights from DFW to the Northeast. In fact, on February 3rd, 70% of flights at DFW and 75% of flights at Dallas Love Field fell victim to the cancellations.
Alabama also had tornado watches in 14 of its counties, with one “likely tornado” killing one person and injuring three. Other states like Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee faced thunderstorms with flash flood warnings and flood watches. Areas around Memphis and Covington in Tennessee saw ice accumulations of 0.5-0.75 inches of ice.
Major cities such as Dallas, Houston, and Louisville faced extreme weather and had to close schools for 145,000 students. In Massachusetts, Boston and Worcester announced a closure of schools on February 4. Texas also had to consider their power grid, which did not fare well in the arena against the weather last February. Still, 33,000 Texans were without power this year due to the storm. Texans are not the only ones without power; 140,000 Tennesseans lost power due to the heavy rains converting into freezing rain. Other states without power due to the storm included Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Illinois. Luckily, except for Alabama, power has mostly been restored across the board according to https://poweroutage.us/.
In these times of such destruction and danger from the weather, it is important for us to be prepared for extreme weather. For example, weatherproofing your home and creating an emergency car kit are important steps to remain safe in extreme weather. For power outages, keeping an inventory of items that need electricity, maintaining a food storage, and having power banks are great steps to take to ensure your safety. However, more importantly, these storms continue to remind us of the fragility of safety, how quickly a situation can turn south, and to appreciate the value of life in the face of its storms.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.