If you weren’t, check out (a very confused looking) Phil in this video. (Also of note: Phil’s powers are apparently not limited to meteorological prediction. Stick it out until 4:40 in the video to hear his athletic insight).

Lest you didn’t believe in Phil’s meteorological powers, it seems like he might have nailed it this time. Or else the meteorologists at The Weather Channel have started using the shadow-seeing method too (which may be an improvement to their current methods, anyway). Check out this week’s surprisingly Spring-like forecast after the jump.

Up this week? An opportunity to hang up the down coats and store the skis in exchange for your oh-so-much-cooler leather jackets and sandals.

You know you're warm-weather deprived when this looks so good...(image source: www.weather.com)

Ok, so maybe not sandal-wearing weather yet, but still exciting. And, hey, if you’re not feeling overwhelmed by the promise of temperatures in the 50’s, it could always be worse. At least when we throw boiling water out of our windows, this doesn’t happen. So chin up, Princeton! Maybe Phil really was being serious about winter’s two-week deadline.

Image courtesy of Akarshan Kumar '13, intrepid explorer

First snowfall of the year(!!!) and it looks to be a hefty one. This photo was taken on 12/26 circa 9:30 PM; apparently there’s about a foot of the fluffy white stuff and more to come. The U-Store — just barely visible here, that glowing beacon of hope and warmth and Olives chicken salad sandwiches — should maybe invest in toboggans.

“HURRICANE-LIKE SNOW STORM COULD DUMP 15 INCHES OF SNOW IN NORTHERN N.J.!”

Star-Ledger: “Expected to hit tonight and continue into Friday… Mercer and Ocean counties should see about a foot of snow on the ground.”

At the Ink, we think igloos are important for a few reasons.

1. Safety. Safety always comes first. With the recent unexpected weather, you never know when you might get stuck in a blizzard. White-out conditions. You’re in Mathey Courtyard–you think. You could be as far as the Junior Slums. You’d never know, not now. Then you start to think, I’m not going to make it. A single tear trickles down your cheek, and freezes. And suddenly you stumble upon an igloo. It’s small, but it’ll do. You crawl through the entrance–and it’s warm. It’s so warm. The storm moves on, and you crawl out into the sun. You’re in between Witherspoon and Alexander Hall, it seems–not far from where you thought you were.
2. I just want to say that I have been in that igloo on Alexander Beach, and it is very cozy. Igloos are cozy, and they are fun.
3. We haven’t yet seen Princeton’s full snow fort-building potential. And how many chances do we get? I’d like to see something like this:
   

   from blogs.woodtv.com

So, without further ado, my top five most bizarre, endearing, disturbing, or otherwise patently Princeton parts of yesterday’s snow day:

1. How one of my professors (He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, for the Press Club’s own protection) decided to hold his lecture AND precept yesterday despite the snow…but was forced to relent when a grand total of four people showed up at our 11:00 lecture. That’s what we call karma, Prof.

2. The battle of brains (and very much not brawn) that ensued at the Democrats vs. Republicans snowball game last night on Dod Field.  My favorite political epithets that were shouted: “Global Warming THIS shit, baby!” “We’ve found those weapons of mass destruction! This guy’s ARM is our weapon of mass destruction!”

3. The fact that, when I went to steal a tray from the Whitman dining hall for sledding, there were already at least ten trays sitting abandoned on Whitman hill. Way to rebel against the man, guys. I’m impressed.

4. The completely blocked archway up by Campbell yesterday. A group of kids built a fort that made the entire arch impassible–until PSafe cruelly spoiled the party and built a bridge through the snow.

5. My favorite part of the snow day? The nerdy snowmen that people managed to think up…with the overall best going to a group from the freshman HUM sequence:

Gotta love the HUM nerdiness: that's a cyclops in the back, with Odysseus center front flanked by two sheep.

Yep, that’s a scene from the Odyssey right there, complete with cyclops, Odysseus, and two sheep.  According to Lily Alberts, one of the masterminds behind the idea, the group flirted with depicting the  rings of Hell from Dante’s Inferno by building an assortment of snowmen with their heads on backwards, but they thought that might be just a tad obscure (and hey, if it’s Dante you want, we’ve got a brand-new video game for that. I so, so wish I were kidding).  Gotta love Classics humor.

Enjoy the snow today, Inkblots–and try to avoid the wrath of Professors who don’t know how to deal with the concept of a day off. Don’t worry, They’ll learn. Eventually…

from prayingtodarwin.wordpress.com

“CLASSES CANCELED ENTIRE DAY.”

This is my first ever snow day. And it feels good.

From the University:

Due to the snow storm on Feb. 10, 2010, the Princeton University campus is closed for non-essential employees. Non-essential employees will not be required to report to work. All essential and critical employees must report to duty. All academic classes are canceled for the entire day.

Princeton students, staff and faculty members are advised to check the University home page for updates. Campus opening and closing information is also available on the University’s weather emergency hotline, (609) 258-SNOW.

This is only the fourth time Princeton has closed its campus in the past 15 years. Last year, University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt ‘96 told the Princeton Packet:

“Closing the campus is very rare and is done only under extreme, unsafe conditions,” Ms. Cliatt said. “This would take place usually only in a blizzard or other extreme weather situation, and we believe such closing has happened only three times in the past 15 years — in 1996 for a blizzard, in February of 2003 also because of heavy snow and in April of 2007 because of heavy flooding in the region.”

Back in my day, I had to walk through a mile of snow to get to the Street.

UPDATE (4:51 a.m.)

Forget the Winter Storm Warning. The National Weather Service just issued a BLIZZARD WARNING until midnight tonight, saying that the storm will “intensify explosively” today with total snow accumulation between 12 and 22 inches.

If the powers-that-be are awake right now, please read what the NWS is saying and cancel classes (emphasis ours)!

NEAR-BLIZZARD OR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE RARE FOR OUR AREA… SO IT IS LIKELY THAT PEOPLE WILL NOT REALIZE THE PERIL THAT EXISTS IN VENTURING OUT IN SUCH STORMS. LIFE-THREATENING CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE… AND DRIVING WILL BE HAZARDOUS AT BEST DURING THIS WINTER STORM TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT. IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT TRAVEL BE CURTAILED DUE TO THE DANGEROUS CONDITIONS… AND ONLY DRIVE IF IT IS TRULY AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS… MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL… HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED… STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

“Life-threatening”? President Tilghman, we don’t want to die! Don’t let us die! Die, die, die!

UPDATE (12:51 a.m.)

So it looks like the chances of a snow day tomorrow are slimming rapidly. While New Jersey Governor Christie declared a state of emergency in the Southern counties of the state, nothing has been said about Mercer regarding that same announcement.

That said, a lot of classes have been canceled (check your inbox to see if you’re one of the lucky ones), but no school-wide announcement has been made through any channels.

And the way the weather’s looking (it stopped snowing a while ago), it doesn’t look like any more snow is going to accumulate. Estimates of snowfall are shrinking, too. Weather.com says,

HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR IN TWO BURSTS ACROSS THE REGION. THE FIRST IS UNDERWAY TONIGHT WITH 3 TO 7 INCHES LIKELY TO ACCUMULATE BY THE MORNING COMMUTE WEDNESDAY. THE SECOND SHOT WILL BE AN EVEN MORE INTENSE BURST OF HEAVY SNOW WITH THE UPPER AIR DISTURBANCE ITSELF THAT SHOULD OCCUR IN MOST OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA… MARYLAND… AND DELAWARE DURING WEDNESDAY MORNING AND NEW JERSEY AND NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA DURING WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THE SNOW WILL END BY MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

So, Thursday snow day? Maybe?

UPDATE (12:39 a.m.)

Don’t give up hope yet, Princeton. The state’s climatologist, David Robison, tells the Star-Ledger that while only three to eighth inches are projected to fall by tomorrow morning, there will be a “more intense session” in the afternoon. And he gives us the strongest argument for a snow day yet:

“It would behoove one to think twice before venturing out (Wednesday) out of fear of not getting back home,” he said. “This looks to be the most significant statewide event of the season.”

AW

UPDATE (10:30 p.m.)

Alright, we don’t want to rain on any parades that have kicked off since we posted this but… It now looks like the chances of a snow day are slimming.

University emails to faculty are now suggesting the weather won’t be bad enough to call classes off. Sorry guys!

Of course, this is a developing story, so we’ll keep you updated with anymore news we managed to pick up…

Stay tuned to Snow Day? 2010.

ORIGINAL POST:

We have it on good information (well, that’s open to interpretation) that tomorrow is going to be…

Get ready for it…

A SNOW DAY.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in seven years, Princeton will be closed due to heavy precipitation.*

Get your sleds out. Don your mittens. Warm up some spiked cider. It’s time to play.

Or sleep, whatever.

*Okay, technically we won’t be absolutely sure until around 4 A.M., but let’s all cross our fingers. And don’t blame us if we turn out wrong – we’re not controlling the weather machine!

(image source: blogs.princeton.edu/aspire)

Holder Hall

It snowed! Or rather, it’s snowing… a lot. According to our ruler, we’ve received about six inches of snow so far. Which means … snow day!!! Oh, wait, it’s Saturday. And Princeton doesn’t do snow days for a measly six inches. Cass Cliatt, Princeton’s spokesperson, tells us that campus has only closed three times due to weather conditions in the past 15 years. So let’s not all cross our fingers too soon.

(Although we would recommend calling if you’re going anywhere on Nassau. We know Labyrinth’s closed today, and Panera’s got weird hours, so save yourself a snow-trudge and call ahead.)

Still, it’s an impressive amount of snow. The historic blizzard is sweeping from Virginia to southern Pennsylvania and central Jersey, leaving as much as two feet of snow in some locations. We can’t expect that much, but we’ll get a few more inches before the day is over.

Between this blizzard and the epic storm that hit in December, we concede that winter does exist in New Jersey. We may get more snow and have far chillier temperatures in my native state of Michigan — but New Jersey can still hold its own.

And did anyone notice that all the walks and stairways were magically plowed and shoveled by 10:30 a.m.? The easier for you to slip and fall, guys!

from Freefoto.com

Maybe you’ve heard about the snow storm moving up the northeast corrider–the one that made Obama race home dramatically from Copenhagen! From the Times:

Winter storm warnings were in effect from Tennessee and North Carolina to the southern New England states, and the storm was expected to affect Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and other cities. A blizzard warning was in effect for Long Island.

The National Weather Service said travel conditions in those areas would be “extremely treacherous” by Saturday morning.

We’re pretty sure it’s not going to be like last year’s Blizzard That Never Was. We know a lot of Princetonians live on the Atlantic coast and are driving home tomorrow, so we’ve compiled some tips on how to stay safe on the trip home.

Weather.com offers tips on driving on icy and snowy roads, including what to do if you start skidding or get stuck:

Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.

Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.

And if you do happen to get stranded, the National Safety Council offers these tips:

Stay in the vehicle. Don’t wander and get lost or frostbitten.

Run the engine for heat about once every hour, or every half hour in severe cold. Clean snow from around the end of the tail pipe to prevent carbon monoxide buildup. For extra heat, burn a candle inside a coffee can – but don’t set the can on fabric. Make sure the vehicle is NOT air tight, by opening a window a little.

Clear outide heater vents. That’s the grill under the windshield.

Avoid alcohol. It lowers body temperature and will cause you to become drowsy.

Leave one window cracked open. Freezing winds and driving, wet snow can quickly seal a vehicle.

Signal to other motorists that you’re stranded by using flares or flashlights, or by tying a piece of brightly colored cloth to the radio antenna.

The Washington Post suggests putting together an emergency kit, just in case.

Pack an emergency kit and keep it in your vehicle throughout the winter: blankets, a sleeping bag, gloves, hats, wrapped nonperishable food (such as granola bars), bottled water, any medication you might need, a charged cellphone and the number for your insurance company’s towing service or AAA. A sudden snowstorm can strand you, so be prepared for cold, hunger and the need to call for help.

Then The College of New Jersey closed its campus at 5 am this morning.

Then all local school districts declared it a snow day.

After we’d hoped all night for the expected “8-14 inches of snow” to bury Princeton’s Gothic buildings and cancel –or at least delay!– classes, imagine our disappointment when we woke up to a measly 6-7 inches and…a full day of classes. Beginning at 8 am.

Though some professors decided not to attempt the drive to Princeton (or decided to just stay home that day –Come on, the roads were pretty much clear) and canceled classes due to the weather, the day progressed as normal for most students.

”Closing the campus is very rare and is done only under extreme, unsafe conditions,” Ms. Cliatt said. “This would take place usually only in a blizzard or other extreme weather situation, and we believe such closing has happened only three times in the past 15 years — in 1996 for a blizzard, in February of 2003 also because of heavy snow and in April of 2007 because of heavy flooding in the region.”

Check out the article in the Princeton Packet here.