Skiers, snowboarders and snow enthusiasts rejoiced last Monday as snow returned to the streets of Ōtepoti. The flurries hit North Dunedin at around 7:30pm, sending students out into the night in a collective frenzy of excitement, many still clad in their dressing gowns.
Unsurprisingly, a number of streets quickly devolved into a massive snowball fight, with flats banding together to reignite their long-lost inner childhood spirit. “This is the most communal Dunedin has felt in a while,” said a student on Great King St. Nick sent it down Pitt Street on skis. “I feel like not many people have skied the streets of Dunedin, let alone looking as good as me,” he told Critic Te Ārohi. Nick admitted that he “probably should have put a helmet on in hindsight, but it was so spontaneous that I didn't think to grab one.” The idea was a “bit of a bucket list thing, something to tell the grandkids,” said Nick. His mate Lochie even came equipped with a Go-Pro, ready to film the antics. Critic Te Ārohi sincerely hopes no overpriced equipment was harmed in the process. Bones can heal, cameras cannot.
With the deafening sound the flurry made on rooftops, you would be forgiven for mistaking the snow for hail. In actual fact, the “snow” was graupel, also known as soft hail or snow pellets – formed when water droplets freeze on falling snowflakes. While this fact would make an excellent pub quiz showstopper, Critic Te Ārohi advises you not to mention it to any snow-believers or else risk crushing some hopes and dreams.
It was not fun and games for all; Critic Te Ārohi received unconfirmed reports that a Selwyn college student smashed a window with a snowball. Intrepid motorists also ended up caught out by the snow flurry. “Bro, it was a full blanket aye. It was like nothing and then next minute, boom, [we had] cars sliding down York Place,” said Jack. Many cars stopped in the middle of the street, hazard lights on, with no clear idea what to do next. Some students took it upon themselves to help the helpless, forming teams to push cars up the hill. Truly the heroes of our time.
The snow flurries came in the wake of the warmest and wettest Aotearoa winter on record, and a generally chaotic Ōtepoti winter that also saw flooding and 16 degree afternoons. Thanks to our existential frenemy climate change, all three of our previous winters have also been Aotearoa’s warmest on record. Remember: this isn’t the warmest winter of your life. It’s the coldest winter for the REST of your life.
Despite the foreboding threat of existential dread, for many students, the snow flurry provided a wholesome short-term experience. It reminded many of us that we are not alone in the world – there's also your random neighbour you barely ever talk to, but who turns out to be wickedly useful when you’re pelting snowballs at the flat across the road. Unfortunately, by the next morning most of the “snow” had melted, meaning that the long-rumoured “snow day” was not to be.