by Courtney Wight '26 on January 29, 2026
Opinion - Entertainment & Society
Friday, Jan. 23, at 4 p.m. my friends and I went to the Shaws down on Admiral Street, just as we always do on Friday afternoons. Yet, upon our arrival, we realized we may have forgotten about the impending inclement weather heading toward the area on Sunday. The parking lot was packed, with only three available carts in sight, and a store full of people made the experience feel like I was doomsday prepping for the apocalypse.
The pizza dough was cleared out, so there went our plan of pizza for dinner, and then disaster struck as I went to grab milk. Usually, the milk section is absolutely overflowing, fully stocked with a ton of options. However, there was only one full gallon of real milk (Lactaid doesn’t count!) in the whole store. I was stunned. I know the joke is to stock up on milk and bread before a storm, but I didn’t know it was that serious.
This experience and the general reaction to the storm have made me question how prepared people are for winter storms. As someone from Albany, NY, 10 inches of snow is a decent amount, but not exactly enough for mass panic. Most people stock up slightly at their usual grocery run and prepare their snow blowers and shovels before a snowstorm. Parents find their kids’ snowpants, hats, and gloves, and get ready for a day of snow-related activities. Maybe it was because I was a kid, but I never remember such a mass panic during a snowstorm growing up.
I’ve had a snow day every year I’ve been at Providence College, and I personally feel that they have not always been warranted. I understand walking around campus is different from driving to school and then being inside all day, but when I hear about a snow day, I expect at least a foot of snow. I still remember the snow day freshman year when I was so excited to wake up to a winter wonderland, only to see about two inches of snow on the ground. I was grateful for the snow day, especially since I had not done my Civ reading, but it certainly did not have the magic of a snow day when I was a kid.
As a person born and raised in the Northeast, snow is a part of life. The car I drove during high school was a pickup truck, and I remember one day we unexpectedly got about three inches of snow during the school day. My sister and I struggled to clean off the truck as best as we could with the small scraper. My hands turned bright red without gloves, and my feet were absolutely freezing as I had Converse on. While it was certainly a tense drive home, we survived. My parents made sure I learned how to drive in the snow since they knew I’d probably have to do it on my own one day.
I understand that those who are not from places where it snows and gets cold may be shocked or unprepared for this type of weather. I feel weather stations have contributed to the intense fear-mongering over winter storms. I’ve even started getting videos on my For You Page making fun of how weather stations are talking about the storm. While I know the Northeast may not be receiving as much snow annually as in decades past, it is still the Northeast! This type of weather comes with the territory. This storm is not a once-in-a-generation blizzard, yet weather stations and people at the grocery store certainly made it feel like it is.