Recently, many locations in the U.S. were talking about the big snowstorm that was headed our way. People stocked up on goods because of being snowed in over the past few days.

   For the Newport School District itself, they were granted Monday and Tuesday with virtual school. The other Perry County schools were also closed on Monday. 

   Despite the foot of snow that was to be expected, there were also mentions of “exploding trees.” Trees exploding sounds like an odd event, but it happened because of the extremely low temperatures. The sap and water inside the trees freeze, which causes the explosions to happen. 

   Temperatures this past week were between 0 degrees Fahrenheit and the low twenties. The temperatures weren’t going above 32 degrees Fahrenheit, also known as freezing. Although the temperature might be 20 degrees some days, the weather app claims that it feels like five degrees. This is because of the wind chill in the air, which strips the layer of warmth on your skin that your body creates. 

   In the news, Pennsylvania was shown with “major impacts” (dark red in the chart provided) involving this snowstorm. While Pennsylvania was shown with heavy weather conditions, Tennessee was the only state with “extreme impacts” (purple) from this storm. Louisiana and Oklahoma were also affected majorly in the same zone as Pennsylvania. 

   This storm underlined how extreme weather across the U.S. can disrupt daily life through school closures and severe cold.

   As of publication, despite the warming temperatures, snow still covers most of the town, creating parking limitations. Meteorologists are also predicting another storm this weekend.