Snow days are the best. Hearing the emails from the school always puts a smile on my face. Waking up late, knowing I have another day to turn in my homework, and skiing are some of the highlights.
We’ve already had two snow days in the first two weeks of December, and I’m still hoping for more. Because I love snow days so much, I wonder what the winter weather outlook will be like this year, and how much snow we’ll be getting.
Last year we all remember the snowy Halloween, the green Christmas, and the warm January. This is the typical weather of an El Niño winter. An El Eiño winter is described by a colder November with a warmer December, January and February. This is what we experienced in Spring Lake last school year, aside from a week-long period of winter storms that caused several consecutive snow days.
This year, on the other hand, could be different. It’s predicted that we will have a colder winter, lots of snow, and hopefully more snow days. When we experience a warmer November with the rest of the winter being colder, it’s called La Niña. I remember these winters from when I was younger, but now they’re becoming less common. In the past eight years there’s only been three of them, so we all need to take advantage of the snow and cold.
We experienced the more common El Niño winter last year, with less snow days and less fun. This La Niña winter could bring back the snow, the cold, and the fun. I hope that it lives up to its potential and we will have many more snow days this school year.
Snow Day Count
Spring Lake is ahead of schedule on the snow day count, with two already in the books.
Spring Lake had its first snow day of the school year Thursday, Dec. 5, as a storm system brought several inches of snow and strong winds across the region. Virtually all districts west of Grand Rapids also closed.
The district had its second snow day a week later, on Dec. 12, as a slower-moving system brought in heavy bands of lake effect snow. Roads iced over Wednesday night, causing several crashes across West Michigan and a water main break in Grand Haven.
Both snow days were announced by the district on the night prior, so families had time to arrange plans for having their children home.
