For those of you living under a rock, gale force winds have descended on Boulder! We are all accustomed to windy days in Boulder, and it’s no surprise in the spring when the strong Chinook winds roll off the Flatirons, but what does seem to catch our attention are the 70 mph plus winds we’ve been experiencing this semester. I don’t know about you but when it takes me ten extra minutes to get to class due to the wind physically slowing my movement, I start to question the weather and, frankly, why we are expected to walk to class when street signs can’t even manage to stay upright.
The truth is, the winds we’ve been experiencing can be labeled a Category 2 hurricane in which people would typically be urged to stay indoors, if not evacuated. In Los Angeles County last winter, the seasonal Santa Ana winds measured at around 100 mph in the foothills area, subsequently schools and universities in the region were closed for dangerous conditions. The winds we experienced on the 18th of January were 94 mph, the next day measured 104 mph, and just this week on February 22nd boulder recorded winds up to 93 mph. What I wonder is, why hasn’t CU responded similarly to schools in Los Angeles under similar conditions? I know it’s unreasonable to expect a day off from school every time weather moves in; we do live in Colorado, but when the wind can take down huge trees, newspaper dispensers, street signs and blow out the electricity you have to wonder whether the walk across our beautiful campus is really safe. A word to the wise: next time the wind picks up take a “personal” day, watch some movies on the couch and avoid getting a tree branch stuck in your hair.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CU Boulder chapter.