Snow shutters the campus for five days

The state of Maryland is known for many things — crabs, the Terps, Old Bay — but heavy snow certainly has never been one of them.

This weekend that changed. More than two feet of snow walloped College Park this weekend, with parts of the state seeing more than 30 inches, in a snowstorm so fierce it has quickly gained the nickname "Snowmageddon."

Along with the threat of another layer of snow to come from a second storm beginning mid-day Tuesday, the remnants of the weekend's massive snowfall will shut down the university for a fifth straight day Tuesday, leading to jubilation for students who over the past four days have enjoyed snowball fights, sledding and extra student access to a men's basketball game.

But for atmospheric scientists such as Louis Uccellini, the snowfall's significance transcends a few fleeting moments of glee.

"This [weekend's] storm will certainly go down in the record books for the Mid-Atlantic region," Uccellini, a university professor, said by e-mail.

The weekend's snowfall matched the highest on record for College Park — it also saw two feet in 1996. And 50 days into winter, Washington has already notched 45 inches of snow, the third most ever for a single season.

The state hasn't seen two snowstorms with more than 15 inches each since 1958.

In an e-mail message, Wayne Higgins, an adjunct faculty member, noted the weekend's storm also marked a milestone for weather prediction. With computer models predicting the storm up to 10 days in advance, local municipalities were able to gear up for what proved to be a treacherous blizzard.

"This storm was exceptionally well forecast by all of the computer models used operationally at [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service]," said Higgins, who also works for NOAA and the NWS.

Uccellini added, "The consistency of the model forecasts as we approached the event was truly remarkable. Compare this to 30 years ago when the limits of predictability for heavy snowstorms was 24 hours or less."

Uccellini said the snowfall from the weekend's storm at times exceeded 3 inches per hour, quickly covering the ground, including the campus, with a blanket of wet snow. Even before the snow began falling on Friday, the university announced it would be closed for the day.

With the university closed, students enjoyed the unusual amount of snow on the ground. Saturday, hundreds of students flocked to McKeldin Mall for a snowball fight. Others built snowmen or went sledding — some even skiing — on any available slope on the campus.

"I attended the snowball fight as a spectator, but tried to stay out of it," said Kersten Moe, a junior art design and communication major. "I still got hit, though. ...The energy was really fun. I think it was the last big chance for all of us to have fun and act like kids because we probably won't see this kind of snowfall again for a while."

Moe said she also tried sledding with friends behind McKeldin Library with friends, but their sleds just sank in the deep snow.

"We ended up sledding down the stairs out front of Queen Anne's," she said.

Moe also attended the men's basketball game yesterday and said the trek to Comcast Center wasn't an easy one.

"We walked to the basketball game, and the paths were really small and only enough for one person to get by," Moe said. "If there wasn't a path, you had to try to step in the footprints."

Kate Oliva, a senior communication and English major, said she enjoyed the snow immensely and was glad to experience so much snow during her last semester at the university.

"We've all gotten to play in the snow and enjoy a long weekend," Oliva said. "And since all of my friends live near each other, we were able to trek to one building and all hang out. Plus, it was gorgeous!"

jbauer@umdbk.com