Forget about climate change, plenty of PNW faculty and students look forward to a warmer winter.
“I look forward to being able to wear shorts and … lighter clothes,” said Anthony Marszalek, a technology specialist who works at the PNW Accessibility Center.
“I hate being cold, so I am looking forward to not feeling like I am frozen all the time,” said Fatema Ruhid, a freshman majoring in Psychology.
“I look forward to not driving in the snow because sometimes it gets really bad and there is black ice everywhere,” said Valentina Gozo, a Nursing sophomore.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a federal agency, predicts that El Niño will likely make this winter warmer than normal for the upper Midwest, including Northwest Indiana. It forecasts the northern part of the country is 33% to 50% more likely to experience a mild to dry winter.
El Niño is a weather pattern during which trade winds push warm water from the Pacific Ocean to the east, resulting in warmer air temperatures.
Average winter low temperatures in the Chicago area hover around 30ºF. Under El Niño, temperatures maybe three to five degrees warmer.
PNW faculty and students hope the predictions of a milder winter hold true.
“My eight-year-old son and I would be open to playing outside more if the weather is similar to how it is now,” said Marszalek. “That could [consist of] simply kicking a soccer ball around or playing with our dog Coco.”
“He is also in Boy Scouts so hikes through the local State Parks may be an option as well,” he said.
Gozo, a member of the PNW golf team, said she is looking forward to not practicing in the snow. But that doesn’t mean she won’t miss some things about winter.
“I like watching the first snowfall and seeing the trees covered,” Gozo said. “I do not like it when it touches the ground though.”
Marszalek thinks he will also miss winter snow.
“I would miss how the fresh snow looks on the trees and the chance to have snow days,” he said.
Ruhid said she understands a warmer winter would bring some trade-offs.
“I will not disappointed,” she said. ”But I will miss being able to ice skating.”
