A "Rough" Year For Schoolchildren

Trey Smith

Except for those who live in the warmest climes, winter generally offers schoolchildren one tantalizing treat: a few days of canceled classes due to snow. When the white gift starts to fall from the sky on a cold winter night, the anticipation starts to build. Kids go streaming out of their houses to frolic in this frozen concoction.

By morning, everyone has their eyes or ears focused on the TV or radio awaiting those blessed words: School has been called off today!!! When such announcements are made, the whoops and hollers of the children (sometimes accompanied by the groans of their parents!) can be as loud as a stadium filled with delirious football fans.

But few of those whoops and hollers have been uttered in the US this year. According to Scientific American,

The initial week of January was the driest in history. And more than 95 percent of the U.S. had below-average snow cover — the greatest such percentage ever recorded— according to some intriguing data maps generated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It is a bit ironic that I share this information as it is snowing in South Bend right now! We have about 2 inches on the ground and more is forecast for tonight. The snow won't last long as our temperatures will return to the 40s by Tuesday.

While the overall lack of sufficient snowfall may be a disappointment to schoolchildren in the continental United States, this should be the least of our worries. A degraded or nonexistent snowpack will cause serious problems all over in the months to come.

A small snowpack often leads to spring droughts in the Midwest and summer water shortages in the West as well as a longer wildfire season in the latter because the soil dries out earlier than usual.