Extreme cold weather in salina

By Savannah Koga / Staff Writer

The past couple of weeks the local area of Salina, Kansas and Saline county has been experiencing some extremely cold weather. With temperatures varying below 10 degrees on most days and the wind chill creating a feeling of negative temperatures. 

Last weeks weather forecast: 

January 12 High: 14 Low: 1 Windchill: 0

January 13 High: 3 Low: -6 Windchill: -6

January 14 High: 3 Low: -6 Windchill: -9

January 15 High: 3 Low: -8 Windchill: -11

January 16 High: 16 Low: -8 Windchill: -6

Salina sky sunset with snow on the ground

The typical Salina winter weather sits around 30-40 degrees with the occasional wind chill and slight snow here and there. So this sudden drop in temperature the last couple of weeks came as a surprise. 

Students were scheduled to come back from the winter break by Tuesday, January 9th. But due to the cold weather and local winter storms, many students missed the first couple days of classes for second semester due to not being able to get into town. 

As Monday, January 15th, was a school sanctioned Holiday [Martin Luther King Jr. Day] Kansas Wesleyan University did not have any school. Due to the cold weather, snowy and icy roads, KWU also announced a two hour late start for Tuesday, January 16th, for the safety of the students. The school also stated that if student’s did not feel comfortable to drive to school that day because of the roads they suggested staying home. 

KWU campus with snow on the ground

This cold weather has also affected the athletic and art programs at KWU. The drama department spent the week in Iowa and was nervous they would not make it due to weather. The baseball team had to practice indoors all week despite trying to prepare for their season opener. Flag football has had to practice in the gym all week, interrupting indoor sports practice times. 

There also was a consistent unavailability of other resources on campus, including maintenance and food at times. 

Many students did not enjoy this cold weather at all. To some students it wasn’t super cold, but the wind chill is what they did not appreciate. In many cases for students it was hard to get around. Going to the grocery store, the gym, work, etc did not seem feasible to most students. 

“My roommate and I stayed in the house literally all weekend. We played games and watched movies because it was not bearable to go outside at all.” Said Taylor Suko a senior from Spirit Lake, Idaho.   

“My roommate and I stayed in the house literally all weekend. We played games and watched movies because it was not bearable to go outside at all.” Said Taylor Suko a senior from Spirit Lake, Idaho. 

KWU has students from all over the country and even the world. A majority of the students come from Kansas but the school attracts everyone. Everyone comes from a different atmosphere and climate for this time of year, some from the warmth of Australia, Arizona, Mexico and California, while others come from colder climates of Idaho, Canada, South Dakota and New York and many more. 

“I am from Colorado, I am used to the snow and cold weather definitely but this just felt different. I also just wasn’t expecting it because I heard before moving here that it doesn’t normally get that cold. Luckily I was prepared though.” Said Teryn Thime a freshman from Woodland Park, Colorado. 

“I am from Colorado, I am used to the snow and cold weather definitely but this just felt different. I also just wasn’t expecting it because I heard before moving here that it doesn’t normally get that cold. Luckily I was prepared though.” Said Teryn Thime a freshman from Woodland Park, Colorado. 

Luckily the weather this week is planned to warm up. Sitting in the middle 30’s to middle 40’s students are looking forward to be a little bit more comfortable going outside. For a look at this weeks forecast click here.