There is nothing more joyful for a high school student than waking up on a cold winter morning to layers of snow coating the roads and school being closed.  Unfortunately, Roxbury hasn’t seen an actual snow day with accumulation in years. The Roxbury Community has had their share of snow days consisting of soft layers of ice and sludge forcing the school system to close to be safe for the buses and young drivers. But these snow days aren’t what children and teens look forward to anymore. We look forward to drinking hot cocoa and watching movies with our family and playing in the snow while parents’ shovel.  

The last time the Roxbury community saw a snow day, was when there was almost 36 inches of snow was February of 2021.  The schools in the district had a snow day lasting two days straight. This gave the snow plowers enough time to make the roads safe and the eager kids and teens enough time to enjoy the snow.  This blizzard didn’t bring everyone joy though. Megan Culkin, A new Jersey resident and pregnant at the time, was driving home from her last day at work in Secaucus when she got stuck in almost four hours of traffic. “This was one of the scariest days as a pregnant woman. I was crawling through hours of traffic on the highway just trying to get home to my first born and husband,” Culkin strongly states. 

So why is it that Roxbury doesn’t get “real” snow anymore? Well, global warming has had a true effect on counties in Northern New Jersey. In the usually frigid winter months, there are still weeks of 60-degree weather. Most of all there have been many years where communities haven’t seen even a flurry of snow. The long-awaited holiday season is picture perfect when even an inch of snow is involved. 

But although some weather forecasters believe that there won’t be much snow this season most predictors do believe that this could potentially be a rough winter. There are many weather patterns being followed that can entail snow. The El Niño is a climate phenomenon that can have impacts on weather worldwide. It does not necessarily bring snow, but it can affect the frequency and intensity of snowstorms in some regions. El Niño typically leads to a milder winter in the North while other regions may experience more snow. However, El Niño is not the only factor that influences winter weather, and not all El Niños are the same. There are forecasters following an El Niño pattern in the Northern New Jersey area. This weather pattern has potential to be a snowstorm in the upcoming winter months. 

Even though these next few weeks or even months waiting for the chance to have a snow day or even an inch of snow can be crucial, it is still a huge possibility we get to have one. So, you better be sure you have your cozy pajamas and hot cocoa at the ready for when the Roxbury Community finally gets the long-awaited snow days.