Frigid temperatures greeted Nathan Wrye as he moved back to campus this weekend.

"I thought my ears and hands were going to fall off because it was so cold," said Wrye (sophomore-supply chain and information systems and economics).

An arctic front brought temperatures in the single digits to the region late last week, causing below-average temperatures for move-in weekend.

John Porter, Campus Weather Service spokesman, said temperatures reached -1 degree early Saturday morning, but it was not a record low temperature. He said the last time State College reached -1 degree was Jan. 20, 1997.

Students fought the cold all weekend as they moved back into the area.

Temperatures before winter break were in the mid-30s, considerably warmer than this past weekend.

"I wasn't really surprised by the cold weather when I got back," said Dan Cummings (sophomore-crime, law and justice). "It usually seems to take a bit longer for it to get cold here."

Shawn Garing (sophomore-secondary education), a transfer student who arrived this weekend, said he was surprised it wasn't colder in State College.

"I live north of Scranton, and it is about 30 degrees colder there than it is here today," he said.

The extreme temperatures are also believed to have caused a pipe to freeze and then burst in West Hall's Waring Commons.

"The pipe that burst was a chiller pipe, part of the heating and cooling system," said Sean Cook, assistant director for residence life. "It happened sometime around one Sunday morning."

Minor flooding in the dining commons and damage to several ceiling tiles resulted, but most of the mess was cleaned up by brunch on Sunday, said Fred Burns, Waring Commons assistant manager.

Porter said a strong area of high pressure over southeastern Canada caused strong winds from the north in central Pennsylvania this past week.

"The system caused a direct discharge of cold air from Canada, which is fairly rare," he said.

The Old Farmer's Almanac predicted the possibility of lower temperatures and above-average snowfall for the State College area this winter.

Cummings thinks this winter has the potential to be colder than normal.

"I think we will get some bigger snowstorms with cooler temperatures," he said. "It will definitely be cold enough for people to complain. If they can't wear shorts and flip-flops, they will complain."

Relatively warmer weather is expected for the next few days, Porter said.

Temperatures in the 20s and 30s are expected through Wednesday, with snow expected Thursday and another arctic air mass bringing similar temperatures into the area on Friday.