By: Carson Hamilton
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) — Arkansas winter weather can be confusing for residents. As climate change has continued to be a controversial topic, there is still evidence that shows how this can affect the intensity and frequency of storms.
This week of snow if no different. Now having two snow storms in the NWA area within a month of each other. This speculates if this will continue each year? As students and residents need time to prepare if a storm puts their life on pause. Generally, students are happy with the weather on campus, but when it reaches extremes, then the University of Arkansas begins to show concern.
Grazing the record, the area hit -18 degrees Tuesday night. This is significantly lower than this season last year. Of all concerns, these storms create barriers for students. Specifically those living on their own. In a small complex community in Farmington, single students live alone about 15 minutes away from campus. When this snow storm was predicted to impact the NWA area, Emma Belic, began to prepare for being snowed in. She lives on her own in a duplex with a hill as her driveway.”.
“We have this massive hill that I love watching people get stuck on,” said Belic. While school is cancelled and most people are unable to get to their jobs, university students are spending their time in the snow. However, Belic had to prepare for the snow ahead of time to enjoy the flurry frenzy.
Local complexes, landlords, and the university have sent out winter weather safety guidelines to follow. This can range from outdoor safety to indoor precautions. Belic has her own system for how to handle the snow.
“I salt and shovel my driveway, I get food, toilet paper, run my water, and basically anything that could go wrong I try to prevent,” said Belic.
PBS properties released their winter weather instructions to all residents on Tuesday. While the university has sent out instructions by email. It is pertinent that instructions are followed as disregarding them could leave to irreparable damage. Moreover, guidelines are to help not burden. The first step is shutting and locking all outside doors and windows to your home. This helps trap hot air in and keep the cold air out. The instructions tell tenants to open their cabinet doors and bedroom doors to help with air flow.Dripping all faucets will help prevent busted pipes and disconnecting exterior hoses is necessary. Maintaining a steady temperature on the thermostat will regulate temperatures in the home. The combination of all these things can make the snowed in journey more enjoyable. 
“I think it is the perfect excuse to run the dishwasher, dryer, and your oven,” said Belic. “Those kinds of things keep everything warm so that is how I weather the storm.”
Overall, these instructions are in place to enforce safety. Living on your own presents its own sets of challenges because there is nobody to help you. However, Belic believes there is always a helping hand.
“Please stay home, we have a really great community and your neighbors will help you out if you need anything,” said Belic. Living alone does have its challenges but Belic believes that a good pair of warm thick socks will help solve most of your problems.
Residents and students will continue to be snowed in until temperatures begin to rise.
Turning on water faucet and setting it to a slow drip audio.