This winter has been one of the harshest winters on record. The last six months have set a record for amount of snowfall, at 112.4 inches, it passes the original record set in 2008 of 103.9 inches. The first snow fell on October 23rd and every month since then has had snowfall, with the most (42.8 in) occurring in January.

This amount of snow is bound to cause some problems and it most definitely has. Kalamazoo Public Schools has had 10 snow days, the equivalent of an extra winter break. The school year, originally set to end on June 11th, will likely end four days later on June 15th according to mlive. However, the KPS superintendent has not made a formal announcement on the extension of the school year. Portage Public Schools had nine snow days and will be extending the school year by three days.

The snow also caused damages throughout the entire nation with at least 16 people dying across the in the midwest and thousands without power in Michigan throughout the holiday season, according to the weather channel. While the ice that caused the damage was quite beautiful, covering the trees in a clear casing, it caused massive damage throughout Michigan that left thousands without power for almost a week. The ice also made driving conditions very dangerous with black ice being abundant.

Lily Krone, a sophomore who drives to school has had difficulty driving due to hazardous road conditions.

“I drive through the Vine Street neighborhood a lot, and it’s very difficult to get around cars when the snow is piled up everywhere,” Krone said.

This excess of snow created a very difficult job for snow plows, leaving many roads unplowed during the snowy months.

All in all, this winter has been one of the harshest in recent memory, with the most amount of snow since 2008, an entire winter’s break worth of snow days, and plows consistently running behind schedule, this winter will definitely be one that is remembered.