James McClendon, Asst. News Editor

Central New York has seen record-setting low temperatures this month, with temperatures dropping to as low as -26 degrees Fahrenheit on the weekend of Feb. 14.

According to the National Weather Service, the lowest temperature measured in Syracuse on Feb. 14 was -23 degrees, beating the previous record by three degrees on that day in 1979.

It was the third coldest temperature ever recorded in February and the eighth coldest of all time recorded in Syracuse.

In Utica, the low reached -21 degrees with a wind chill of – 27 degrees on Feb. 14.

The Utica area saw temperatures as high as 50 degrees a week later.

Robert Cross, Director of Environmental Health and Conservation, talked about the possible causes of these extreme weather fluctuations.

“They say it’s this El Nino which is bringing warm air to the southern part of the jet stream,” Cross said. “I don’t know if it’s Global warming or not, but the world has gone through ice ages every 10,000 and it will happen again because everything happens in cycles.”

Utica is almost done with the cold weather according to Cross.

“Generally March tends to warm up but we still have another week in February,” he said.

Cross wants students to take all the necessary precautions to stay safe in extremely cold temperatures.

“For the super cold temperatures, take the precautions to bundle up and stay inside as much as possible,” Cross said.

With spring sports starting to practice, the coaching staffs of the baseball and lacrosse teams have taken the appropriate precautions to keep their players safe.

Assistant Baseball Coach Angel Zapata talked about how grateful they are to have access to the Todd and Jen Hutton Sports and Recreation Center.

“Weather doesn’t have much effect on our guys because we are in the dome,” Zapata said, “If we didn’t have it we would have to rent out one of the indoor facilities off campus.”

Even with the the dome, the team has not been completely immune to the effects of the change in weather.

“We had a few guys on our team with flu-like symptoms or fevers because one day it’s negative five and the next it’s 30,” Zapata said. “It’s crazy but there’s not much we can do about it.”

The Lacrosse team has also utilized the new sports and recreation center during the month of February and its cold weather.

“The new dome facility has been a great asset to help with practicing,” Brandon Misiaszek, an Assistant Men’s Lacrosse coach, said.

Sean Behan, one of the other assistant coaches, said the team takes advantage of warmer days to play their sport the way it was meant to be played.

“Lacrosse is an outdoor sport meant to be played outside,” Behan said. “I think we are excited to get outside as much as we can.”

The weather in the month of February has been extremely low and moderately warm. The Utica College community should always be prepared.