Winter's worst weather hits Columbus

ERIC PACELLA/THE LANTERN Sean Corey, a senior in mathematics, wears ski goggles and heavy gloves as he trudges through the heavy snowfall Wednesday evening. The first major hit of snow to sweep through central Ohio came Wednesday and caused a bus accident, two broken pipes on campus and some canceled classes. The temperature started at 22 degrees and dropped to 10 throughout the day with more than two inches of snow.

Ohio State Police Chief Paul Denton said the heavy snow led a Chevrolet Geo Prizm to crash into a CABS bus on Cannon Drive at 10 a.m. He said no injuries were reported, but the accident held up traffic for hours.

"The car was covered up with snow, and the driver wasn't able to see, so they ran into the bus," Denton said.

Inside the residence halls, where some students thought they could escape the constant snowfall, pipes cracked in rooms in Drackett Tower and Nosker House. Pipes are likely to freeze quickly in older dormitories when residents leave their windows open, said Ruth Gerstner, the Student Affairs administrator.

When a pipe burst in Baker Hall East in 2007, students' rooms were flooded and water leaked down to lower floors. But Gerstner said the dorm incidents Wednesday were contained and no major flooding or property damage occurred.

The inclement weather did not make it easy for some professors to get to class, either, causing them to cancel. Some students made the difficult walk in the snow and found out about the cancellation later.

"I can't believe I walked all the way to Postle Hall from North Campus to find a note on the door saying there was no class," said Molly Gray, a sophomore in journalism. "My teacher had e-mailed us saying she couldn't make it to campus because of the snow."

Many student organizations and campus events called off, as well. Cassandra Dees, president of the African American Voices Gospel Choir, canceled an important rehearsal last night when the snow did not let up.

"The choir is singing at Bowling Green University this weekend, but I know it would have been nearly impossible and unsafe to get everybody together," she said.

Despite the chilling temperatures, Jim Lynch, director of Media Relations, said OSU would never close entirely because the medical center never closes.

"This university is very serious about providing its full measure of instruction to tuition-paying students," Lynch said. "We're not like K through 12 schools who close down easily; we live in Ohio."

According to The Weather Channel, the fast-moving Alberta Clipper is spreading snow through the lower Midwest, and Ohio should expect two to four inches of additional snow today. Meteorologists predict that central Ohio temperatures will drop drastically tonight and will not rise until Sunday.

Denton expects campus traffic to be heavily congested during the coming days.

"People have to get used to driving in this much snow again," he said. "This can be an extremely difficult process when you add in the number of students who will be driving in a lot of snow for the first time this year."

Although these winter incidents could be expected to occur this time of year in Ohio, some students said they were still shocked by all of the snow.

"I'm mad that we just started back last week, and the big time snow is already here," said Sie'ara Williams, a senior in middle childhood education. "It's something you're never ready for, and when it comes it comes hard."

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Heather Hope can be reached at hope.27@osu.edu.

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