Most University students bundled up during Sunday’s rare dose of snow. Freshman Ryan Fielding dressed down.
“I’m just not cold at all, man. It doesn’t feel that cold,” Fielding said, wearing a pair of basketball shorts with sandals and no shirt. “I’m totally fine except for my feet.”
As snowfall continued throughout the morning and into the early afternoon Sunday, most of Eugene received at least three inches of accumulation. Higher elevations nearby ended up with as much as 10 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
And more could be on the way – additional snow was expected to fall Sunday night, and a heavy snow warning remains in effect for the southern Willamette Valley until 4 p.m. today. The National Weather Service expects additional accumulations to amount to one to three inches today.
Most students on campus took advantage of the winter weather, taking part in snowball fights or building snow sculptures. For many out-of-state students, it was one of their first chances to see snow in person.
“It’s cool to see it falling,” said freshman Samantha Rood, a native of San Diego who said Sunday was the first time she’d seen snow.
Rood spent part of Sunday afternoon building a snowman near the EMU with freshman Josh Sears. Both Carson Hall residents said they weren’t aware of the wintry conditions until well into the morning.
“We woke up at about 11, and we heard everyone yelling,” Rood said.
Other students devised creative ways to enjoy the snow. A few plastic meal trays lay strewn in the lawn near the EMU where they had been used to sled down a hill. In the quad lawn near PLC, several students built a snow sphinx.
Fielding joined a large group of students on the Humpy Lumpy Lawn near Hamilton Complex in a group snowball fight – exactly what he said he enjoyed most about having snow on the ground.
“I don’t even know these guys,” Fielding said. “They just started throwing snow at me.”
The University will remain open as usual today, though students are advised to use caution when traveling to campus. Professors, however, may cancel their individual classes.
Sears and Rood said they both had studying to catch up on – until the weather provided a welcome distraction.
“Not anymore,” Sears said. “It’s been canceled due to snow.”
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