Spring's Here--But Cold Won't Go

As of 9:41 this morning, it is officially spring. But you wouldn't know it from a walk outside, or from talking to Cambridge residents embittered by the weather.

Just one short week after the "storm of the century," it doesn't look like spring. Piles of snow and ice still line the streets of Harvard Square, temperatures dip below freezing and students are more likely to be clad in topcoats than tank tops.

And the formal arrival of the new season does not promise to bring any drastic changes.

In analyzing the cause of the harsh winds and low temperatures, some are resorting to conspiracy theories.

The supposed arrival of spring "is all a farce," said Lisa I. Thebner, a Harvard Extension School student who considers today" an arbitrary date."

"It seems like the next 11 months will be winter," said Thebner, who revealed her suspicion that the wind and snow is part of a "master plan to keep [her] in a bad mood,"

"We'll forever be swamped with this white stuff," Thebner, who said she has "lost hope,"

Such despair is shared by native Texan Daniel F. Ostrower '94, for whom the novelty of cold weather has definitely worn off.

"When it gets cold for a few days in San Antonio, it's fun -- but it gets a little old after six months," Ostrower said.

Alexandra M. Molnar '96 who was injured by a piece of ice falling from a roof Monday afternoon, knows that the dangers of winter weather surpass bad moods and chapped hands.

"I hope the ice starts to melt--it'll be a little safer to live around here," Molnar said.

Molnar is among those who have managed to maintain their faith in the calendar despite temperatures that belie its significance. Molnar said that for all she knew, today could be sunny and warm. "I've never had a Boston winter before--miracles may happen," she said.

But Molnar, and all other seeking temperatures as high as the upper 40s, will "have to stick it out for another week or two," according to Christopher M. Hedge, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Boston.

"We're not expecting any 'spring weather' in the near future at all, at least not in the next week," I Hedge said.

"We still have a couple weeks left in which we can get snow, but it doesn't look like there will be any for the next several days," Hedge said.

Students who want really warm weather. er, though, might have the most success heading for their local travel agent and booking a trip south for spring break.

For now, Hedge urges those yearning for springtime warmth to be patient. "Three more months until summer--it can only get better," he said.

Some said that even if today doesn't bring blue skies, it can still inspire a new frame of mind. Lamont Library book checker Norman J. Aubert said he thinks the formal initiation of spring should make students "happy--psychologically, if not physically."

"It should be nice just to be able to say 'hey, it's the first day of spring!'" Aubert said

For now, Hedge urges those yearning for springtime warmth to be patient. "Three more months until summer--it can only get better," he said.

Some said that even if today doesn't bring blue skies, it can still inspire a new frame of mind. Lamont Library book checker Norman J. Aubert said he thinks the formal initiation of spring should make students "happy--psychologically, if not physically."

"It should be nice just to be able to say 'hey, it's the first day of spring!'" Aubert said