DECATUR — Thanks to the blanket of snow northwest Arkansas received over the weekend, 14-year-old Andrew Woodruff and 9-year-old Tanner Duncan didn’t have to take a vacation in Colorado to enjoy snow boarding on their spring break.

On Monday morning, the two boys were having plenty of fun snow boarding inrelatively balmy temperatures right at home in Decatur.

On Thursday and Friday, warm temperatures seemed to herald spring, but on Saturday - the first day of spring - temperatures plunged and a cold rain began to fall. By Saturday afternoon the rain turned to heavy snow that quickly covered the ground. The snow continued until around noon Sunday when it turned back into a cold rain.

“It’s pretty odd, really. It’s the third day of spring and we have almost a foot of snow on the ground,” Duncan said.

The storm covered roads with slush that made driving slightly hazardous on Sunday, but by Tuesday afternoon warm temperatures had melted most of the snow away, leaving a few patches in the grassy areas.

Saturday also marked the beginning of spring breakfor Decatur schools. The district missed eight days of school because of winter weather this year. Superintendent LeRoy Ortman decided against holding make-up days on spring break in case parents had planned vacations in advance. Instead, students will go to school until June 4. They will also attend classes on two teacher-development days in April and on Memorial Day to make up for lost time.

Community, Pages 2 on 03/24/2010