By: Gaurika Gupta
Six months after Hurricane Beryl, Houston recently witnessed yet
another climatic surprise. This one much better than the former.
Houston woke up on Tuesday morning to 2-4 inches of snow. While
fallen behind Louisiana’s 11-inch, this was enough for excited Houstonians
to take their pool floats sledding down Hermann Park. Snow-capped
houses, snowy roads, and the cherry on top – work and school’s out! Snow
fights, snowmen and woolen gloves and mufflers that hadn’t seen the light
of day since 2021.
Luckily, instead of scouting for generators this time, most of us
scouted for the perfect, fluffy spot for a snow angel.
But is there a reason behind this snowy coat that enchanted our city
the past week? Was this another face of climate change inflicted by carbon
emissions? Perhaps.
The amount of snow witnessed in the past week is one for the historic
records. Houston recorded its third snowiest day in history with this year’s
snow and the highest single-day snow total since 1949, as reported by
Forbes.
While the snow fights and sledding were enjoyable enough to mask
the grave warnings that hide behind this snowy, fluffy veil, it is undeniable
that these historic records indicate slowly but nevertheless changing
climatic conditions.
However, for now, we just experienced a snow day! School’s in
session again, some trees and roofs are still dripping with snow residue,
and random carrots are being discovered in backyards from a now melted
away snowman. But the snow day was one that got everyone’s cameras
and boots out, and it won’t be one that Houston forgets for a while.
Staff Writer: Gaurika Gupta
(Gaurika Gupta is a staff writer for The Legend. Her views do not necessarily represent the view of Austin High School for Fort Bend ISD. This is an opinion article.)
