Snow Week ’10
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Posted by: Hopkins Insider | 
March 4 2010 | 
Comments (1)
Name: Laurin Wolf
Year: Class of 2012
Hometown: Faribault, MN
Major: Writing Seminars
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There’s something kind of magical about the beginning of a snowfall. Growing up in Minnesota, I’ve experienced this
a lot—I mean, a lot—yet those first few flakes never fail to stir up a little excitement in me. I have lots of positive associations with snow: snowmen, snow angels, sledding, and, of course, snow days. A free day from school in the middle of a long, dark winter was quite a gift for every elementary-age child in Minnesota. I was working in my usual spot in the Admissions Office on a recent Friday afternoon when I glanced out of the 2nd floor window and saw a scene reminiscent of a snow globe. The delicate flakes were beginning to whirl and stick to the lawn and streets below. “That’s pretty,” I thought. “ What a nice reminder of home.” Almost 24 hours later, the storm raged on, and the view from the big glass windows of my dorm common room resembled my home state a little too closely. The streets were piled high with drifts, cars were completely buried, and the miniature snowplows that Baltimore appeared to
have on hand, while very cute, didn’t seem to be making much progress in controlling the mess. By Sunday evening it became clear that the snow was too great of an obstacle for many professors traveling to campus, and classes were canceled on Monday morning. Snow Week ’10 had begun. The next day, Baltimore received another huge snow storm and… surprise! Wednesday classes were canceled as well. And then Thursday classes. And Friday classes. Having never received a single snow day during my entire middle school and high school career, I could hardly believe this string of events. My friends back in Minnesota were incredulous when I filled them in. “We never have class canceled due to weather,” complained one at University of Minnesota. I tried to explain that snow protocol was, well, a littledifferent here in Baltimore. Here are some fun facts to help illustrate the distinctive cold weather cultures between my two homes:
1) The average winter temperature in southern Minnesota, where I live, is 16 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest temperature on the books in -60°, recorded in 1996. The typical annual snowfall for those of us “down south” is between 50 and 60 inches. The average January temperature in Maryland hovers around the 30° mark. Throughout Snow Week, parts of Baltimore City gathered almost 50 inches of snow.
2) Minnesota spent 67.5 million dollars on snow removal activities in 2009. From the Minnesota Department of Transportation: “Winter is our bread and butter. We take pride in that.” By Day 3 of Snow Week, Maryland had spent 27 million dollars on snow removal—from a budget of 26 million. From the Maryland Department of Transportation: “You just can’t not plow the snow.”
3) Maryland’s salt use during the snow deluge: 74,000 tons. Minnesota’s use throughout an average winter: 350,000 tons.
4) The University of Minnesota has had two weather-related cancelations in the past 20 years, according to an article that ran in The Minnesota Daily on February 8th, day 1 of Snow Week. One of those cancellations occurred at 2 p.m. I think my friend should give up hope for a snow day…
5) On Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources webpage, you’ll find maps of groomed snowmobile trails (over 20,000 miles of them) and safety tips for ice anglers. On Maryland’s DNR page, the headline that jumps out first is “Attention Crabbers!” It explains how to keep the wild Maryland terrapins out of your crab pot. Hmm.
Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not trying to say that Minnesota is superior to Maryland in any way. I love 
Maryland crab! And -60 degrees is a temperature never to be endured by a human being, in my book. But I will say that this list does help to give a little perspective on the overall snow preparedness of the two places. Slowly but surely, the Baltimore we have all come to know re-emerged. The snow began to melt and the ghost-town atmosphere gave way to life and noise once again. As I walked to my first class on the Monday following Snow Week, I realized how glad I was to see the campus full of students again. While a series of snow days is certainly special, most people I talked to were ready for Hopkins life as we know it to resume, and that’s a testament to how cool life here can be—if you’ll excuse the pun.
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By Cate W., March 4, 2010 @ 11:33 AM
As a fellow native Minnesotan Hopkins students, I love this blog!!! I was really hoping to escape the Minnesota landscape when I moved to Baltimore, but a single week of blizzards was a nice reminder of what it’s like at home all the time.