Recent snowfall blankets campus

Snow made an appearance last week, supposedly confirming Groundhog Day’s prediction of six more weeks of winter after Ontario’s groundhog Wiarton Willie spotted his shadow on Feb. 2.

Langara students shared their thoughts of the snow as it blew in last week.

“I didn’t expect it to snow this big in February,” said continuing studies student Serena Keiichi. “I live in West Vancouver, so it’s up a mountain, and it gets hard to get out when it snows.”

Keiichi said snow affects her drive to school due to ice, making her commute difficult. “I like it if I’m at home, but I don’t like it when I’m out,” she said.

Snow in the mountains, not in the city 

Dan Dunn, a peace and conflict studies student, had a different opinion about the snow.

“I just dislike [the snow] in the city. I like it on the mountains.”

Dunn said he liked how the snow makes everything “seem a little bit quieter, especially at night.”

Mandeep Singh and his friends, Rishabh Sharma and Gursharan Klair, were having a snowball fight on the Langara campus last week. They are all originally from Punjab, India.

“We came from a place where there was no snowfall, and it’s an awesome experience for us,” said Singh. “Everything is very beautiful, and we were playing in the snow.”

Spring around the corner?

David Jones, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said snowfall at this time of year is not rare. “We’ve had lots of snowstorms in the past at the beginning of March and throughout the winter,” he said.

Jones said there is nothing in particular Environment Canada can “link to any storm regarding climate change.” He said winter will end eventually.

“Spring is definitely on its way, but it comes on its own schedule every year,” said Jones. “It tends to vary and there’s no set week or day that spring will arrive. We just let it come when it happens.”

Jones said Environment Canada gives an accurate forecast of the weather beyond about seven days, depending on the time of year.

According to Environment Canada, Vancouver can expect periods of rain for the coming week.

Reported by Erin Boe