By Emily Pesquera
Starting in 2024 in a deep freeze, many parts of the United States are experiencing snow, sleet, ice, and rain; Florida alone has been in freeze watches and warnings, with some counties urging residents to cover their plants and bring their outside animals in.
This winter, we are experiencing an El Niño, leading to wetter, snowier conditions throughout the country. At the beginning of January, severe weather was set to hit Florida, with strong winds, rain, and multiple tornados. Even Florida State University closed for the first time in years due to severe weather unrelated to a hurricane or tropical storm.
“I think the cold weather Tampa has been experiencing is crazy,” said a junior University of Tampa (UT) student, Ally Alessi. “Being from New York, I expect this from the Northeast but not from Florida.”
This unusually cold weather is something Florida students come down to school in Florida to avoid.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, a powerful winter storm rushed through the country from the West Coast to the East Coast, putting more than 40 million people under a severe weather threat.
The Arctic Blast the country experienced in the middle of January led 79% of the country into a deep freeze, and states have been experiencing the coldest temperatures since February 2021.
Winter Weather vs The NFL
The Kansas City Chiefs faced the Miami Dolphins for a Wild Card round in Kansas City; with temps dropping to -4 degrees at kickoff and the windchill being -27 at times, fans were attending one of the coldest NFL games in history. During this game, 15 fans became hospitalized, and dozens were treated for hypothermia. Earlier this week, the Kansas City Police Department announced three Chiefs fans were found frozen to death outside. This unusually deep winter freeze is taking the lives of fans, family members, and loved ones.
Fans in Buffalo are being asked to help dig out Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, before the Bill’s playoff game. Upstate New York had more than 2 feet of snow in the Buffalo region within 24 hours; with heavy wind and more snow coming in, fans were asked to bring their shovel to dig out their seats and sit on cardboard to keep warm. Five to ten-to-ten-foot snow drifts lined the roads Bills fans drove on for the Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers playoff game.
In a post-game interview, Bills tight end Pete Metzelaars said, “the field was frozen, but it wasn’t in bad shape,” according to WGRZ, Buffalo News.
The crew who took care of the NFL fields to ensure the players were comfortable during the game and the field was playable helped the NFL Wild Card weekend go off without any issues.
Unpredictable Weather
Florida is experiencing weather unlike the typical weather the Sunshine State is known for; instead of sunshine, it has been gray, gloomy days with rain. El Nino sometimes brings temps to the mid-’80s and then suddenly drops to the 30’s and 40’s. An increase in rainfall is something Florida is used to seeing during the ‘rainy season’ or summer months, but not in December and January. Tornados are increasing as storms roll through the southeast in response to El Nino conditions.
Being from Wisconsin, I moved to Florida to be in the warmth,” said Anna Baucom, a junior at UT. “After weeks here of pretty much the same weather as Wisconsin, it’s finally hot again like it’s supposed to be.”
The countdown to summer and typical Florida weather has begun, with students and residents ready for the sunny state to be sunny once again.