New England Smothered in Over 1 Foot of Snow!

By Dennis Phillips

Photo by Dennis Phillips

The weekend of January 23, 2026 kicked off the beginning of the Spring 2026 semester across the CT State Community College system. Many students returned to campus, either excited to start their college journey or get closer to the finish line and graduate with their degrees. At the same time, a winter storm was brewing across much of the eastern half of the United States, and when it arrived in the Northeast on Sunday January 25 it lived up to its promise of bringing record snowfall and frigid temperatures.

By the time the snowfall had ended, many places like Naugatuck Valley had accumulated around 17 inches of snow. What did that mean for students? Many campuses had sent out emails regarding closures over the weekend, where most campuses would remain closed on Monday with some having delayed openings Tuesday and/or Wednesday. The snow banks created by the plows to keep the roads clear made driving treacherous since they were too high to see over in many areas. Some bus routes had to be re-routed as a result of some roads becoming too narrow to navigate, which made commuting with public transit more time consuming. Rideshare services like Uber and Lyft were also even more expensive at the time.

I spoke with Capital student Nat Rodriguez about his experience commuting to campus on Tuesday.

“I usually walk to campus. It was so bad I had to walk on the road at some parts because the sidewalk wasn’t done. It was kinda scary, but somehow I made it in one piece.” When I asked him what he was doing on campus that day he said that he was there to pick up his shiny new blue U-Pass. “Not gonna lie, it’s too cold to be walking around like this for almost half an hour.”

He’s right. Temperatures have been consistently in the low teens, but with the wind chill it feels much colder. So what can students who are commuting to class do for the next few days? Here are some tips:

If you are commuting on foot:

- Wear enough layers to keep you warm without making you sweat.

- Wear waterproof shoes/boots with grip to help keep your feet dry and prevent slips.

- Watch out for patches of “black ice.”

- Be mindful of icicles hanging off of buildings. They might fall and cause injuries.

If you are taking public transit or rideshares:

- Expect longer wait and travel times due to traffic and/or alternate routes.

- Remain indoors as you wait if possible.

Stay safe!