Whether you were saddened by the canceled Family Weekend tailgate or grossed out by your muddy, soggy shoes, all of us on Villanova’s campus have experienced the repercussions of Storm Ophelia in some way or another. As the storm gusted up through the greater Philadelphia area, our campus experienced many gray, wet days which coincidentally aligned with a particularly significant weekend for the University.
According to Convoy of Hope, Ophelia was named the 15th tropical storm of the season on Sept. 22, as wind speeds reached 39 mph. The storm made landfall in North Carolina on that day and headed northbound shortly after. CBS17 reports Ophelia’s highest gust clocking in at around 80 mph at Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina, causing power outages for tens of thousands in the storm’s wake. The storm prompted much flooding, which became an increasingly pressing issue for residents in parts of coastal North Carolina and Virginia. As a result, the area of Virginia Beach, one of the most affected areas, declared a state of emergency, leading to closings for many of the local schools.
Fortunately, because of its decrease in intensity, Ophelia was downgraded to the classification of a tropical depression. The different terminology for the classification of the storm depends on the maximum sustained wind speed. A tropical storm (what Ophelia was originally categorized as) is a tropical cyclone which has maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. On the other hand, a tropical depression (what Ophelia was reclassified as) only hits a maximum sustained wind speed of 38 mph or less. As Ophelia traveled up through the country, it lost a lot of its strength, causing meteorologists to recategorize the storm.
Though in not such a severe way, Ophelia hit Philadelphia and its surrounding areas hard starting the weekend of Sept. 22. The storm soaked southeast Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, causing many power outages and even flood advisories for some areas, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
As for Villanova, Ophelia arrived on an especially important weekend. As the storm blew into Radnor, so did the families of many students as Villanova’s 2023 Family Weekend commenced. While the on-and-off downpour and gusty winds did not prevent the Varsity Football team from competing in their 2 p.m. game, it did cause the University to officially cancel the tailgate held on Mendel Field that hundreds of families and students were looking forward to as, for some, the main event of the weekend.
However, the tailgate’s being called off did not stop many families from engaging in their planned festivities. Despite its formal cancellation, many still set up their tents with food and decorations, enjoying their tailgates through the less-than-ideal conditions.
“Yeah, it was super rainy and windy, but that almost made it more fun,” sophomore Brynne Taranto said. “I mean, Family Weekend is only once a year, so when your family and your friends’ families travel all the way to campus, you [have] to make the most of what you got.”
“Just because it was rainy didn’t mean we couldn’t have a good time,” sophomore Cassie Polanskyj said. “It was awesome to see so many people stick it out and have an awesome day, even in the pouring rain.”
Ophelia continued her northward march, eventually fizzling out further in the northeast. Villanovans finally were able to enjoy some sunny days, causing many students to ditch their umbrellas to enjoy the first few weeks of fall. Hopefully, the rain steers clear of our campus in the coming weeks and allows us to have a dry transition into the fall.
