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January 21, 2010

Winter weather ‘snow big deal at Pitt-Bradford

If you don’t like Pittsburgh weather, wait a minute, locals say. That changeability has held true this winter as single-digit temperatures and above-average January snowfall in the city quickly dissipated last week amid rain showers and comparatively balmy highs in the 40s.

According to the National Weather Service, Pittsburgh has received 32.4 inches of snow this season (a total of 40.6 is average), including 12.6 inches of snow so far this month — already surpassing the typical January total of 12.3 inches.

While the Pennsylvania State Climatologist counts 40.6 inches of snow as a normal season in Pittsburgh, whiter winters are the norm on the University’s more distant regional campuses. Johnstown’s average is just under 50 inches and, near Titusville, the average annual snowfall is 74 inches. Pitt-Bradford typically sees the most snow: an average of 90.5 inches each year.

In Bradford, life goes on, regardless of the snow.

Steven Hardin, vice president and dean of academic affairs, said he hasn’t experienced any campus-wide cancellations in his six years at UPB. “We generally operate as usual,” he said, noting that area road crews are well equipped to handle the inevitable rough weather. “They do a very good job of clearing the roads in this area,” he said. “It’s a different infrastructure, a different world.”

Faculty members are given discretion to handle weather issues with individual safety in mind, he said.

Although 53 percent of Pitt-Bradford students live on campus, there are some commuter students who may need to brave back roads to get to class. “Faculty are very receptive to this and very understanding if a student talks with them and couldn’t get in,” Hardin said.

The hands-down winter heroes at Pitt-Bradford are the facilities crews, who earn widespread praise for keeping campus roads and walkways clear.

During a typical snowfall, the crew of eight or nine people begin their day at 5:30 in order to have campus cleared of snow by 8 a.m., when faculty and staff begin arriving. Equipped with seven plows, three salt spreaders and decades of collective experience, the crews disperse to their assigned zones and begin the familiar routine. They start by clearing the residence hall stairs and pathways to the student union, food services and gym.

“We know the areas that have to be done first,” said UPB facilities management director Pete Buchheit.

In a typical winter, they’ll go through a tractor-trailer load of bagged salt and 200-250 tons of bulk salt to get the job done.

“You get no sympathy from me,” Buchheit jibed after a meeting earlier this month on the Pittsburgh campus, where several inches of snow had accumulated. “You’re not bad at all,” he said, labeling accumulations of two, three or four inches “nuisance snow” — because they take as much effort to clear as a big storm.

“More than 15 inches is an alarm,” he said.

Extreme cold is more problematic than snow, Buchheit said, pointing out that it fell to 14 degrees below zero on the Bradford campus earlier this month. “That’s more critical to us,” he said. “It not only taxes the snow removal crew, but the building engineers also have to make sure everything stays running.”

Buchheit said this winter hasn’t stood out as unusual in Bradford, with only about a foot of snow on the ground as of last week.

He noted that the unusually mild November and December helped the region escape what typically is prime time for the lake-effect snows. Most big snows in the area occur between late November and mid-January, but after Lake Erie freezes over, the potential for heavy snow diminishes, Buchheit explained.

Still, once the snow falls, it’s not unusual for it to remain on the ground through mid-April.

Having the right equipment and staying ahead of the snow is key, said Buchheit, who relies on campus police to alert him should heavy snows begin overnight so maintenance crews aren’t overwhelmed. “We wouldn’t wake up to 15 inches of snow” to remove, he said.

Although he’s had no early call-outs this season, his crew is prepared to come in as early as 10 p.m.

“We take it as it comes. There’s not a thing you can do about it.”

“Snow’s going to be an expectation. We just accept that,” said UPB Staff Association President Margot Myers, a student support services program manager.

“We really embrace the snow,” she said, noting that it’s not unusual to look outside and see students engaged in flag football games  — with some players bundled up, others in shorts; or co-workers strapping on snowshoes for a lunchtime walk along the McDowell Community Trail that adjoins the campus.

There’s plenty to do indoors, as well: Book clubs to delve into, basketball games or swim meets to watch, Spectrum Series concerts and events to attend. And the staff’s annual “Souper Bowl” potluck lunch is a winter tradition.

Some people take not letting winter stop them to an extreme.

Micquel Little commutes 93 miles each way from Bath, N.Y., to her job as circulation supervisor at UPB’s Hanley Library.

The drive typically takes 90 minutes, but in snow can become a real marathon. Earlier this month, on what she admitted was a bad, slippery morning, her commute stretched to two and a half hours.

“I’m not going to deny it’s quite a long way,” she said, insisting that about 95 percent of the time, the weather poses no problem.

A lifelong resident of the Bradford area, Little was raised in New York’s Allegany State Park — both her parents were park employees. Just getting out of the park was “20 minutes to anywhere,” she said. “No big deal.”

Her strategy for getting to work regardless of weather: “It’s usually pretty easy to plan around,” she said. “It’s all about planning and paying attention to the weather and waiting for the snowplows.”

Little said she doesn’t miss work on account of snow, allowing herself extra commuting time and, if she is delayed, making up the time at the end of the day. “My director is really understanding,” she said.

About 70 miles of her trip is highway driving on New York Route 86, where she said she can judge how bad the weather is — particularly early in the season, before motorists readjust to winter driving — by how many cars are in the ditch. She herself has been among them.

“I consider myself a pretty good driver,” she said, “but it’s always in the back of my mind. It makes me more cautious.”

Last January, Little hit an unplowed spot on an exit ramp and flipped her vehicle. She was okay; the car was totaled. “I’m very attached to my car given I’m in it so much,” making the accident traumatic in more ways than one.

Audio books, which Little finds to be soothing during a stressful drive, and a philosophical attitude help when the weather slows her commute. “The area is so pretty here. I try to appreciate my surroundings when I go slower,” she said, noting that fresh snow on the trees along her route can be especially beautiful.

As for the wintry weather, “I’ve lived here all my life so I can’t complain about it,” Little said. “I could have moved.” While she won’t go so far as to say she is a fan of winter, “I’ve come to appreciate it more,” she said.

Making sure winter is fun is part of Mick McMillan’s job. “The more snow the better,” says the UPB director of recreation, intramurals and aquatics.

While weekend activities go on at UPB all year, winter brings a special slate of things to do, including an annual winter week in early February with activities each night. His clientele mainly are students, although faculty and staff are welcome.

Most popular is the ski club, which students can join if they’ve taken the 1-credit phys ed ski class. The class draws 20-30 students to the slopes with another 30 skiing as club members, McMillan estimated.

In addition to campus ski nights at nearby resorts, McMillan said a trip to Vermont typically is on the agenda during spring break.

McMillan and his core of student workers also schedule ice skating, broom hockey, tobogganing, cross-country skiing, caving, winter camping and even snow kayaking throughout the winter.

“It’s a good time,” said McMillan, who welcomes the fleet of UPB snow kayakers to the slopes on his 20-acre property near the campus.

For a warmer option, he knows of a nearby cave entrance on national forest land where outflowing air is a constant 50 degrees, making it an ideal winter camping spot. Those willing to rappel into the cave depths can explore nearly a quarter-mile of passages.

“It can be freezing or blowing snow outside,” but jackets quickly are peeled off inside, he said.

Students who aren’t fans of snow and cold can choose indoor activities including trips to a nearby indoor water park and a climbing gym. Otherwise, some likely would stay in their rooms with video games and computers until spring, McMillan suspects.

“When I first started, they had to come out to eat and to use the computer labs,” he said with a laugh. Now, computer networks in the residence halls make it easier for students to hibernate, so he makes a special effort to include a mix of indoor and outdoor activities to lure them out of their dorms.

While students may come to campus from all over — including places where a dusting of snow brings their world to a halt — in Bradford, it’s no excuse for stagnating. McMillan laughs as he recalls one student’s unsolicited observation: “It seems like the more snow, the more you do.”

Not everyone at Pitt-Bradford is a veteran of northern Pennsylvania winters. New philosophy faculty member Jesse Steinberg grew up in California, where, he says, people who wanted to experience snow would drive to the mountains for it, then go back home.

“It’s a different experience here.”

When people see his expression — self-described as a combination of awe and exasperation — it’s obvious he’s from out of town. “Hopefully, I’ll look like a local eventually,” said Steinberg, who arrived on campus last fall. “Bradford folk are proud of their snow,” he’s already discovered.

Steinberg, who had some introduction to winter weather last year in Champaign, Ill., said he is enjoying the change of seasons and plans to try cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

“It’s nice to explore a new region,” he said.

While he is enjoying the snow, winter brings with it some annoyances, “especially when you talk with your friends who are back in warm weather and hear what they’re doing.”

In his new home, Steinberg is becoming accustomed to the everyday winter rituals of cleaning up the salt that gets tracked indoors and shoveling snow. Clearing the driveway was “fun the first day, okay the second day, but by the third day I was tired of it,” he said.

He said he learned the hard way about the need to lift his windshield wipers so they won’t freeze to the car. And winter driving still is new, although he got some practice in Illinois last year. “I’m getting better at it,” he said.

Although he sometimes misses California, “Bradford beats L.A. in a lot of ways, he said.

“We’ll see how I feel in March.”

—Kimberly K. Barlow