Frigid temperatures and incessant snowfall are beginning to affect Penn State students, even as meteorologists question this winter's place in the record books.

While some feel that this season is the coldest ever, the facts indicate that it is not.

"Not by a long shot," said Chris Johannesson, a meteorologist with Penn State's Weather Communications Group.

"Temperatures this year are very close to normal," he said.

"This year seems particularly cold because previous winters have been relatively warm," he added.

The average temperature this season has been 35.5 degrees, almost seven degrees lower than last year's 42.3 degrees, but still higher than 2001's 30.5 degrees.

Besides temperature, the amount of snowfall can change people's perceptions of how cold it is.

State College averages about 45 inches of snow each winter, but 34 inches have already fallen with about a month and a half still left in the season.

"Snow lends the impression that it's been an abnormally cold winter so far," Johannesson said.

This season's first snow came in October, and snow has been on the ground from Thanksgiving to the winter break. Last year, by contrast, did not see its first snow until January.

This winter has already been the snowiest since the winter of 1995-96, when 53.7 inches was dumped on the ground, the most State College has had in 108 years.

Because of that, this is the snowiest season that most current Penn State students have seen on campus, and that may be affecting their perceptions of the temperature.

"It's the coldest place I've ever had to live in. Sometimes the weather makes you want to stay in your room instead of going to class, but I guess it's all part of enjoying the Penn State experience," said Shyam Gopaladesikan (freshman-mechanical engineering).

Explaining why some winters are warmer or colder than others is difficult, Johannesson said.

"All these different players on the map come together" to dictate the temperature, he said.

One of those players is the jet stream, which has moved south this year, creating low pressure in the East and high pressure in the West, leading to colder temperatures.

Last year, when the jet stream stayed along the Canadian border, the atmosphere was dominated by high air pressure in the South, causing warmer conditions.

Another factor is the snow that has already fallen, which tends to promote colder temperatures and make it harder for warming to take place.

Lastly, a warm area over Greenland and a cold area in the Atlantic have caused the mercury to fall further, Johannesson said.

Michael Sager, a forecaster with AccuWeather, said the average this year is only about one degree lower than normal.

The average temperature "hasn't been extreme, but it's a shock to many people," he said.

Sager said unseasonably high temperatures on Dec. 31, Jan. 1, Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 helped to raise the temperature close to average.

"Four days can really throw you off as far as what it felt like," he said.

Johannesson said students will soon feel the coldest days of the season, and that the next week or two should be as cold or colder than this week.

After that, he said, temperatures will climb until July.