It was around noon on Monday, November 10th when snow blanketed Boulder. This frigid snow blanket, which coated Boulder after a morning high of 66° F, took many residents by surprise. Walking around campus showcased students wearing shorts and T-shirts, reflecting how many people were unprepared for such sudden change in weather. I too, was once unprepared for this sort of weather pattern. I never made that mistake again.

I’ve lived in Colorado my entire life, which means I should be fairly accustomed to Colorado’s sudden changes in weather. When I was a freshman at Colorado University, however, I was as naive as a camel traversing the Antarctic.

via davidstephenson.com

It began on a warm fall morning. In fact, the morning was so warm, I opted on wearing shorts and a T-shirt when I left to eat breakfast at the dining hall. I glanced at the weather report, but paid no attention to what the weather was going to do later that fateful day. This was a grave mistake that I identified about halfway through my breakfast feast. I glanced out a window and saw flakes of snow. I wondered to myself, “why are flakes of snow falling on such a warm day?” After checking the weather again, I found out that the temperature had dropped from nearly 70° F to about 40° F. It was much like Monday earlier this week, when its temperature fell from 66° to 15°. (see the temperature transformation below!)

via facebook.com/cuboulder

At this point, I was filled with half a serving of omelette and an entire serving of regret. I had no time to go back to my dorm and change, because my first class was getting ready to start. I had to brave the elements and accept my dimwitted decision of wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

via dailymail.co.uk

Walking to class was fairly cold, but it was manageable. However, once in class, the only thing I could pay attention to was the window beside me. I watched the small smattering of snowflakes quickly turn into an aggressive blizzard while I was supposed to be learning about public speaking. The view I had looking through the classroom window looked similar to the image below.

via cdn.phys.org

Once class ended, the blizzard was becoming a whiteout. Desperate for a makeshift clothing solution, I used leftover homework assignments and crafted some college-ruled paper sleeves to cover my arms. It wasn’t much, but it was something. The walk back was cold and miserable, and by the end of it, I was snowcapped in a soaked notebook paper. I also developed a terrible cold.

But on the bright side, I did learn something.

I’ve learned that it is important to be prepared for the unexpected. Colorado has some fast-paced weather patterns, and a comfortably warm day can turn into a field trip to the arctic at any given moment. I’d recommend for everyone to keep gloves and a jacket handy at all times, because college-ruled notebook paper makes for some pretty lousy clothing. Trust me.

Sam Skelton Chief Technology Officer