By Lane Stilson
Temperatures dropped significantly in the last four days, reaching into the low teens Tuesday morning and hitting a high of only 28 degrees.
Larry Dunn, National Weather Service Meteorologist in charge, said the recent drop in temperatures can be attributed to the recent snow storm, the clear skies and shorter days.
The new snow cover on the ground reflects heat from the sun efficiently, creating a refrigerator effect on temperatures in the valleys.
'At this time of year, the cold air can remain trapped in the valley bottoms even when the air aloft warms up,' Dunn said. 'We can have a complete change in air mass and yet we won''t feel it down here where most of the people live.'
The clear skies prolong the cold because there are no clouds to radiate the heat back to Earth.
Some students are upset about the abrupt temperature changes. After serving a mission in the West Indies, Jansen Gunther, a sophomore from New York City majoring in horticulture said anything below 70 degrees has him chattering.
'I have to wear eight layers of clothing just to stay warm in these temperatures,' Gunther said. 'On one hanger I have three coats, and I just take them off and put them on together.'
Gunther said, however, the weather here doesn''t feel as cold as the humid winters in New York.
Shalice Pugmire, a communications major from Yorba Linda, Calif., said the cold weather has even changed her diet.
'I carry hot chocolate at all times when I go outsides,' she said. 'But I don''t go outside very much anymore.'
Some students are worried the cold temperatures will create expensive heating bills this winter. Last year''s cold temperatures had students like Edward Heinlein, a junior from Severna Park, Md., paying upwards of $110 for heating expenses each month.
'At first, I thought the gas company must have made a mistake,' he said. 'Then I talked to other people who had even more expensive bills.'
Some students, however, are happy to pay the expensive heating bills in order to escape the freezing temperatures. Pugmire said she was willing to work extra hours just so she could have a nice toasty home.
Despite most students'' abhorrence to the colder temperatures, some students are thrilled to see the cold weather.
'I''m loving the cold weather,' said G.J. Stowell, a junior from Glendora, Calif., majoring in facilities management. 'I like the crisp cold air on my face. I guess on my mission I just got to used to it.'
Stowell said he even likes his house to be in the 60s. However, he said his wife makes him keep the temperatures in the low 70s.
'I wouldn''t mind it being colder,' he said. 'But, we''ve got to have a compromise.'