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With the arrival of the first day of spring Wednesday, temperatures remain low and signs of spring are sparse.

Brown grass and bare trees are all that can be seen of foliage on campus due to a fresh covering of snow and patchy ice that arrived Monday morning.

According to the National Weather Service, multiple record-high temperatures were recorded during this week last year, reaching as high as 80 degrees. This year, temperatures remain unusually low.

Geography professor David Kelley said these unusual temperatures are simply a matter of chance.

“Last year was atypically warm and this year is atypically cold but none of (the temperatures) are outside the realm of possibilities,” Kelley said. “It’s just like rolling dice.”

Cold temperatures and snow in March are not uncommon. March is frequently a snowy month due to moist air from the Gulf of Mexico meeting with cold northern air creating an efficient “snow machine,” Kelley said.

Whether the weather conditions St. Thomas is experiencing are common or not, students can expect a brisk start to the new season as spring makes a timid entrance.

Morgan Neu can be reached at neu92585@stthomas.edu.