Athens’ brisk, uncomfortable weather is leaving many people shivering, bundling up and even skipping class, but is likely not dangerous.
The normal high for Jan. 22 is 40 degrees with a 23-degree low; however, Tuesday’s weather produced a high of 15 degrees and a low of 6, said Jonathan Wolfe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in Charleston, W. Va. The drop should make students wary, but not frightened, he said.
In order for temperatures to be considered dangerous, they would have to drop about 20 degrees — into the minus-15 range, Wolfe said.
“I’d avoid going outside without being bundled up, but it wouldn’t stop me from going outside,” he said. “As long as they’re bundled up, they should be fine.”
The record Jan. 22 low for Parkersburg, W. Va — the closest place to Athens for which weather records and data were available — was minus-15 degrees in 1936, and the high was 7, in 1999, Wolfe said.
“There are so many temperature fluctuations this time of year,” Wolfe said. “This isn’t a record-breaking event of any kind.”
At this week’s temperatures, it would take between one to two hours of having bare skin exposed to the air to get frostbite, Wolfe said.
“Just wear a couple of layers rather than just a sweatshirt,” Wolfe said. “There is a bit of a wind chill, which is taking wind-chill temperatures to zero or lower, which can freeze bare skin if exposed long enough.”
Athens City Schools will be operating under a two-hour delay Wednesday because of the temperature. No schools in Athens County were closed Tuesday, and only 11 of 50 schools, adult centers, preschools and other institutions in the county had delays.
In the event of dangerously cold temperatures or harsh winter weather, Ohio University President Roderick McDavis would be charged with deciding whether or not to close the university, OU Spokeswoman Katie Quaranta said. Students would be notified through OU’s emergency page and social-media accounts.
Kelsey Crowley, a freshman from Northeast Ohio studying communication studies, described the temperatures as normal for winter and said they did not keep her from getting to class or around campus.
“It’s like normal winter,” Crowley said. “It’s great. I love the cold.”
Crowley and other students were selling hot chocolate outside Baker University Center on Tuesday to raise money for Student Senate, and she said the cold presented convenient timing.
“We reserved the table today, and it was just perfect.” Crowley said.
ld311710@ohio.edu
