Show Ready for Spring Sr M Erika Bullock Contributing Writer When is a lot of snow in winter not a good thing When its it's followed by a warm sp spring ng In the first fust storm this year we got 40 of the snowfall we got the entire winter last year and there have been several storms since then all dropping more snow This could be DC be a great beginning to ending the drought or it could become a disaster If the snow turns into dirty flood floodwaters floodwaters floodwaters waters and mud it will do little if any to help end the drought conditions In 1983 a winter with plenty of snow was followed followed fol fol- fol- fol lowed by a spring that got very warm very quickly The result was flooding and mud slides State Street was lined with sandbags sandbags sandbags sand sand- bags and turned into an artificial river After five long years of drought it may be hard to think in terms of having too much water but it is something that needs to be consid consid- ered If it happens the problems problems problems lems will be worse because of the wildfires in the canyons this summer Parts of southern California are already concerned about mud slides ides because of the devastating wildfires they suffered this summer The fires burned off all the vegetation vegetation vegetation that would help absorb the water preventing preventing preventing prevent prevent- ing erosion and mud slides Students may wonder In the first storm this year we got 40 of the snowfall we got the entire winter last year why they should be worried worried worried wor wor- ried about something that might not even happen For those who attend the South City campus having State Street turned into a river could cause some serious problems Those students who enjoy camping camping camp camp- ing will be disappointed to find the camping areas flooded Hiking trails and areas used for off off will likely be buried under mud Some business would be forced to close Our tax dollars would go to repair damage done to public areas and roads The many insurance claims could cause insurance companies to raise premiums for everyone Wed We'd all like the drought to end but it will take more than one winter of heavy snowfall and a warm wann spring to quickly turn that snow to water If If were we're fortunate fortunate for for- we will have a mild spring and slowly rising temperatures This would allow the snow to melt slowly and be absorbed into the ground or the rivers to carry it to to the lakes So while many of us may be ready for warm weather let us hope we dont don't get too much of a good thing 0 |