Collegiate Times

After being welcomed back to a spring semester with icy roads, half a foot of snow, and temperatures below 20, students were surprised by a sudden spike in temperature this week.

As the weekend turned into Monday, students posted pictures on Facebook and Twitter of multiple-day forecasts, noting the upcoming 60-degree weather and how quickly it would disappear. While these posts were widely popular, the actual weather has received mixed reviews from the community.

"This is way too warm for winter. I was just starting to get used to the cold again," said Andrew Stephenson, a junior communication major.

"I love this new weather. I don't do too well in the cold, honestly," said Sarah Harris, a freshman engineering major. "I wish it would stick around."

The preparation of faculty and staff was equally varied. While plenty of people embraced the change by wearing shorts, dresses or t-shirts, several were caught off-guard by the weather, coming to campus wearing heavy coats and thick winter scarves.

For upperclassmen and long-time residents, the reaction to the temperature changes was largely unimpressed. Among many of them, the strange fluctuation of weather in Blacksburg is frequently a subject for jokes. Flurries in November, summer weather in mid-October, and long spans of time without seeing the sun are all things that the average Virginia Tech student has experienced at least once by the time they graduate.

"It's not all that weird," said Leah Simms, a sophomore biology major who has spent most of her life in Blacksburg. "At this point, I guess I'm just used to the weather being unpredictable."

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A version of this article appeared in the Jan 30 issue of the Collegiate Times.