Over the past few weeks, the Northeast has been hit with a brutal stretch of weather.  The temperature has been frigid nearly every day, with highs in the teens and lows in the single digits, with some places reaching negatives.  While the frigid cold has been enough of a problem in and of itself, to make matters worse, on Jan. 3 and 4, the east coast was hit with Winter Storm Grayson.  The storm, referred to as a “bomb cyclone” or “bombogenesis” by meteorologists, dropped a heaping amount of snow along the eastern seaboard, even in areas that rarely get snowfall, such as Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida.  While the storm did make an impact on the southeastern and mid-atlantic states, the the Northeast bore the brunt of the damage.
Grayson, initially forecasted to pass through the Northeast in a timely manner, rapidly intensified and ended up lasting for much longer than anticipated. In most places, the storm marginally surpassed the projected snowfall totals.  Here in Port Washington, despite multiple predictions by the Weather Channel and News 12 of three to five inches of snow, we instead received upwards of eight inches.  Most residents of Suffolk County were prepared to receive six to ten inches of snow and ended up with over a foot. The storm didn’t just affect the US. According to numerous calculations, high snowfall and wind levels were observed in Canada as well.  24 inches of snow in New Brunswick, and a wind gust of 126 miles per hour in Nova Scotia.
For many Schreiber students, myself included, the main reason we took an interest in this storm was to track the possibility of a snow day.  While we did in fact get our snow day, (as a matter of fact, two,) and while our four-day weekend just two days removed from our winter break was very much enjoyed, it is easy to see the effects of this storm on our school.  With midterms around the corner, the three weeks sandwiched between the winter break and midterm week is an incredibly important time which teachers use to finish covering topics for the midterm.  For students, this time is crucial to help us prepare for our upcoming tests.  While the snow days were fun while they lasted, the loss of not one, but two of these days, is detrimental to teachers, many of whom are now scrambling to prepare students for their midterm exams,
“While I love snow days and am pleasantly surprised each and every time I get that wonderful call from Superintendent Mooney, there are a few drawbacks that go along with them. When the teachers are behind on their curriculum, they cram and we stress,” said junior Brent Katz.
In order to compensate for this lost time, teachers have no choice but to work through the material faster, give tests sooner, and sacrifice time spent in class that was used to review for the midterms.
“While I enjoyed having the time off, I think that it is actually going to make me more stressed in the long term,” said sophomore Ryan Siegel.  “I was able to get a lot of work done during those two days, but now I know that teachers will be in a hurry to finish their units before midterms.”
While losing time this time may be inconvenient for students and teachers alike, our problems pale in comparison to the widespread damage done by Grayson.  The storm made it almost impossible to travel and hundreds of flights were cancelled.  Over 300,000 people were left without electricity, and even more without heat.  While losing power may seem like a travesty in itself, losing heat in sub-zero weather is ten times worse.