Five days ago, students at UW-Madison could have gone outside in a light coat and enjoy a breezy, sunny fall day. The high was 59 degrees Fahrenheit — perfect weather for a walk along Lakeshore path or lounging on the Terrace.
Thursday night, however, trick-or-treaters all over Madison had to shuffle through over three inches of snow.
Madison picked up 3.6 inches of snow as of 11:00 a.m. Thursday morning — setting new records for the snowiest Halloween. Previously, the Halloween record for Madison was 3.2 inches — in 1926.
Madison also broke its record for the snowiest October, according to a Weather Service tweet, with the city’s monthly total snowfall reaching 5.5 inches. The last time Madison had this much snow in October 1917 when the city accumulated 5.2 inches in the same month.
“I think having snow here is amazing,” said Christina Yu, a freshman at UW-Madison, originally from Dallas, Texas. “For me, the snow hasn’t gotten too bad and I have really good coats. It’s all about layering and preparing for it.”
Other students aren’t as excited about the recent snowfall.
“I f*cking hate the snow,” said Hannah Kennedy, a sophomore at the university. “If you don’t have boots, you’re going to die. Why don’t we use salt or sand? We have those sand bins laying around, we can just [use] that.”
The City of Madison recommended that all residents “be slow, patient and alert on all roads.”
In an update on snow plowing posted by Streets Superintendent Charlie Romines, he warned that untreated roads could be snowy and potentially slippery, adding that layers of leaves underneath the snow might make streets and sidewalks even more slick than usual.
The city also proposed residents plan for extra travel time in the coming days as the Streets Division staff continues to monitor the roads.
Addison Lathers is the Editor in Chief of The Daily Cardinal. She has covered city and campus news and held two editor positions. Follow her on Twitter at @addisonlathers.
