Early last week, the weather forecasts began the warnings that many in this area do not hear often. A cold front would come into San Antonio and many other parts of the state with what many were predicting would be “wintry mix.” Snow was even projected by some, and the projection proved to be an historic reality.

Many in San Antonio are embracing the rare and occasional event for South Texas, as the last time the city has seen any snow was in 2017. However, the last huge snow storm to hit San Antonio was in 1985, where snow fell for two days straight.  This storm, San Antonio saw as much as 6 inches total of snowfall Valentine’s day night into the early morning hours of the 15th. Forecasts are even saying that snow may not completely melt until Thursday.

Via Aeries Communication System, Principal Stephen Walswick and Central Catholic has called and cancelled all classes for Tuesday February, 16. In the message, saying, “Teachers will use the time to prepare lessons for remote instruction in case there is a need for additional distance learning. Students are encouraged to get caught up on work from last week. We are hoping and praying that power is restored to all of our families and that the roads will be safe and clear soon.”

Meanwhile, many of the Central Catholic Community are embracing the historic event along with getting an extra few hours off, such as Dr. Brandon Ballesteros ’04 and Chemistry teacher. He says, “Today, I find myself realizing how blessed I am and learning to appreciate what life has to offer: a beautiful, cold, and sunny day with the opportunity to mentally unwind and relax by reading “House of M,” a graphic novel I’ve been wanting to read.”

Junior Adrian Castillo says, “It’s been alright besides the fact that our house has no power, but it’s kind of interesting to see snow.”

Tim Cassler, English teacher and the Pep’s Advisor has also been embracing the winter storm. He says, “Watching the snowfall was fascinating and alluring. We lost power last night at about 12:30 am, and had no power for over an hour. We pulled a few candles together, layered our clothing, and right about the time it got down to about 60 degrees in the house, thankfully, the power came back on.”

He continues, “It made me appreciate some of the things we tend to take for granted, like electricity, gas, and internet. I’m thankful that we do not have to deal with this type of weather on a yearly basis.”

James Bendele, teacher and Science Department Chair has three words to describe the event: “Strange. Weird. Historic.”

He continues on to say, “We went from temperatures of 110 to 10 within six months. I went for a 4-mile walk around my subdivision to take it all in and saw this sweet elderly couple making a snowman and then I saw several neighborhood children sledding down the street. Unreal! Now, I just wish my electricity would come back on!”

That’s also the other issue. Many are without power at this hour, with rolling blackouts, on top of frozen power lines. Much of the problem is being monitored by CPS Energy. Their website’s home page issues this warning: “The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued an Energy Emergency Alert 3 and rotating managed outages began early Monday morning. Rotating outages are expected throughout the day and can last longer than 15 minutes. Some customers may experience longer outages if failures occur during the restoration process. If an outage is longer than 15 minutes, it is likely part of a separate outage not related to a rotating outage.”

CPS also says these next few days are high energy demand days. Therefore, some tips their website has include:

• Turning thermostats down to 68 degrees
• Trap warm air by closing windows and doors, and possibly closing blinds in your home
• Turn off or unplug any unused appliances or chargers
• avoid using large appliances such the washing machine, drier, or even the oven

The City of San Antonio is also advising those who don’t need to be out at work to stay off the roads as many of them are closed until the snow melts. Other than that, the snow is perfectly safe to have some fun in, according to local meteorologists, and maybe to even build a snowman!