Moving into the winter months, cold weather is imminent in the Midwest, even below zero degrees becomes common and below freezing is almost daily. This takes months to disappear and very quickly people get tired of this weather, even considering the scenery that comes with snow and ice.  

The snow and ice brought by this winter weather could allow for slips by cars and people alike. Cars might not be able to brake on time and crash and possibly hit people when drivers cannot maneuver their vehicles to avoid them.  

Environmental science teacher Mary Murphy shared the reasoning behind this weather are factors like solar radiation, atmospheric conditions and geographical features. 

“Our weather is also heavily influenced by the jet stream, a wavy river of fast-moving air high in the atmosphere,” Murphy said. “When the jet stream swings south, it can push cold Arctic air into North America which is what happened last week when we had cold days.” 

Film teacher Megan Berry drives a longer distance to work and said she lives in Michigan and therefore has a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to work. And often, she will give herself extra time in the mornings.  

“I’ve noticed as I drive to Macomb County, there’s usually more snow around here,” May said. “So even if I don’t have much snow at home, it’s usually snowy here. I drive more cautiously and assume that there’s ice there even if you can’t tell considering any possible black ice.” 

Miles Laessle ’25 is a newer driver and said he makes sure to take care when navigating wintery roads. 

“One thing I tend to do is go a little slower, usually I’m right around the speed limit, but during the winter, I slow down,” Laessle said. “One time, I didn’t, and I, I slid a little bit, almost slid into the wrong lane so yeah just go to speed limit and be safe.”