Your Carolina Weather Stories

[GAA_Admin]

Even though Chapel Hill is known as the "Southern Part of Heaven," the weather is not always heavenly like those spring days when the sun is shining and the campus is in full bloom. There are also the snowstorms, the baking heat of August, even the occasional hurricane. Share your Carolina weather stories.

[HalTarleton]

Ice storms and the frigid walks from South Campus marked my first three years at Carolina. During one such storm that left a glaze of half-inch thick ice on sidewalks and streets, I sat with friends looking out a third-story window in Avery and laughing at all the cars sliding along the ice. One car pulled into a straight-in parking space about halfway up the hill in front of Parker and immediate slid sideways all the way down the hill until it struck the curb with a thud at the bottom of the hill.
During my senior year, a freakish March snowstorm struck the day that spring break was supposed to begin. Being snowed in gave me one more night with the woman I loved and would soon marry. The snow melted quickly the next day but our romance still burns after almost 40 years.

[ldodge4748]

The winter of 1969 was particularly cold. One day I was in the (very small) elevator in Wilson Library. There were 3 students and a very old man crowded together. Someone commented on the extreme cold. The old gentleman said, "It's not as cold as the winter of '98," as in 1898! We young folks chuckled and went on our way. Later, I learned the elderly man was none other than Louis Round Wilson, himself. He had, indeed, been at Chapel Hill in 1898.

[gwhaley]

One of my all time favorite memories of Carolina was Senior year (2007) in late March/early April and it was raining. I decided to just go for a walk, no umbrella, no raincoat. I convinced a few friends to come out and go puddle stomping with me, and we walked around campus in the rain for at least two hours just having fun.

The temperature was warm enough that the rain cooled everything off and the rain was just cool enough to cause a slight chill, but not cold enough to send you running right inside. I still laugh when I think about it, it was one of the last things I did at Carolina, but one of the things I remember most often.

I also remember first year (2003) when it snowed/iced and people were going down the hill between Hinton James and Morrison on EVERYTHING from picnic tables, to common room furniture, to lunch trays (Lenoir and Chase took away the trays for a few days because so many went missing) and construction signs. It was hilarious to watch from the 9th floor.

[Heather_Pierce]

My first memorable experience with Chapel Hill weather occurred not long after my arrival in Summer 1992. I was on a date with my future husband, Andrew Pierce '97, and we were walking back to my car in a light rain. I suggested to him that we take a romantic walk in the rain, something that is commonplace in Tampa. Eager to please but confused by the request, my Canadian boyfriend complied. I gradually realized that the rain in Chapel Hill, even in Summer, is much colder than that in Florida. After a much shorter walk than I had anticipated, I let my shivering sweetie back into the car. Thirteen years of happy marriage later, Andy and I still laugh about our "romantic walk in the rain"!

My second memorable experience was during Hurricane Fran in 1996. As a newly married couple, we decided to watch a movie sitting on our couch in front of the picture window at the front of the house we were renting. I had lived 21 years in Florida and weathered many hurricanes, and laughed at all the dire predictions the forecasters had about Fran's eye passing over Chapel Hill. >>CRASH<< Imagine our surprise as a massive oak tree crashes onto the deck and roof inches from where we are sitting! That's a long way for a Florida girl to travel to gain a healthy respect for hurricanes...lesson learned, I no longer sit by windows during storms.