A powerful ice storm ripped through eastern Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas last Tuesday night, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power and causing extensive damage and travel complications.
The storm, which was called winter storm Nika, dumped between a quarter and a half-inch of ice on Philadelphia and its suburbs, making it the hardest hit area affected by the storm.
Chester County very well may have gotten it the worst.
Just about 166,000 PECO customers—more than 80 percent of Chester County—reported power outages in the hours immediately following the storm, and that number remained as high as 38,000 on Sunday morning.
The devastation was evident in West Chester, as many local business and residential areas spent days without power. The West Chester Commons, a large student apartment complex on Matlack Street, lost power in the overnight hours between Tuesday and Wednesday and did not regain it until Friday afternoon. Students living there were urged to go home, or otherwise seek shelter from the frigid temperatures.
“[My friends and I] spent the last few days driving to each other’s parents’ houses to spend the night waiting for the power to come back on,” said Meg Callanan, a West Chester student and resident of the Commons. “We lost all of our new groceries in the fridge to the power outage, which is horrible for a bunch of college kids without a lot of money.”
The storm brought more than just power outages, however. According to The Weather Channel, a half-inch of ice can increase the weight of trees 30 times, causing everything from small branches to full size trees to come toppling down. In West Chester, there were several incidences of trees falling on cars and fallen limbs and wires obstructing roadways.
“I woke up and was surprised to find out I had no power, and even more surprised to find my car buried under a tree,” said WCU student Amanda Slook.
Due to the wide-spread power outages and hazardous conditions, West Chester University was forced to cancel classes Wednesday and Thursday, after already having a snow day Monday from a previous storm. In the first 14 days of classes, there have already been five days cancelled due to inclement weather. The cancellations are wreaking havoc on both students and professors, both of whom are feeling the effects of not being able to have class.
“I didn’t expect the ice storm to cause that much damage,” said Tori Holt, a junior at the university. “At first I didn’t mind the snow days, but last week was crazy. I’ve barely done any work in my classes.”
“It’s tough enough early in the term to get students on track and focused on their coursework,” added communication studies professor Ed Lordan. “Throw in some snow days and no electricity and it’s almost like starting over. We’ll adjust our syllabi, but it’s a game of catch-up for the next three weeks.”
But despite the horrid conditions, many students and faculty did find a way to spend their days off, and brought some much needed good to a tough situation.”
On Wednesday night, and with short notice, more than 100 student and faculty volunteers trekked down to the Sturzbecker Health Science Center to help set up an emergency regional shelter for those in need in the community. In just an hour’s time hundreds of cots with sheets, blankets and pillows had been set up, and food was being sorted and stored. More than 200 people were able to use the shelter—which was run by American Red Cross—for a meal and a warm place to sleep.
“Having the opportunity to get to work alongside so many West Chester University student was simply amazing,” said Justin Sochovka, who volunteered at the shelter Wednesday night. “There was a point in time when I paused, looked around the room and watched as fellow students worked vigorously to make sure that the shelter was in tip-top shape for our fellow community members. I couldn’t help but smile knowing that when our community needs us, WCU students are always reliable.”
Kenny Ayres is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies. He can be reached at KA739433@wcupa.edu.