The onset of 2014 brought unprecedented cold weather to many areas across the country, the worst of which was located in the Midwest.

Areas near Minneapolis and Grand Forks hit temperatures lower than 50 degrees below zero with wind chill.

UND Graphic and Web Designer Jessica Peterson said she traveled to see her family farm in western North Dakota for the holidays. After returning to Grand Forks during the cold weather blast, Peterson noticed several local places, including schools, had canceled events due to the weather.

“A lot of them canceled athletic events for Friday night and Saturday,” Peterson said. “If there were any tournaments, a lot of people shut down their stuff. A lot of churches closed that Sunday, when it was like negative 50 with wind chill, and I think, Monday, pretty much every school had been shut down.”

While students were still on break, faculty members like Peterson where lucky enough to stay home Jan. 6 after the university decided to close its doors for the day.

Carolyn Dorr of Brooklyn Park, Minn. tried not to let the cold weather keep her from staying active. However, despite being used to the cold weather, Dorr said it was just too cold to go outdoors some days.

“It was very cold, and I had to go into the warming house quite a lot,” Dorr said. “The really, really freezing days that we had recently, I stayed indoors, but I still did travel and go get a Redbox.”

Similar to Dorr, Freshman Aerica Hall decided to take her winter break plans indoors. Others, such as Junior Carl Decimus, went snowmobiling despite the cold and enjoyed the heavy snowfall.

“It was cold, and I had to bundle up,” Decimus said. “I am not used to this type of weather. I am more used to 12 below zero, but yeah, I still had fun outside. It was not like I stayed indoors the whole time.”

While some students found ways to deal with the weather, others, including junior Alex Tuan Le, were lucky enough to get away from it.  Tuan Le visited Houston, Texas during the break to see his sister.

“The snow, the ice and the cold coming from the north pushed me away, and the warm sunny skies attracted me and pulled me in,” Tuan Le said. “I flew there, and my flight was at night, but it took only about 15 minutes for the plane to be de-iced.”

Tuan Le said he is happy to be back and even admits he missed the cold temperatures.

After surviving the frigid return to campus, students enjoyed warmer temperatures during the weekend before classes began.

Mathew McKay is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].