Sri Lankan transfer student experiences snow for the first time.

With the annual snowfall in Wichita Falls being a mere 3.6 inches, this past winter storm surpassed that average with 4 inches in one day. For 25 year-old Sri Lankan transfer student Yugath Wickramarachichi, a sophomore in business finance, this recent freeze was his first and something he won’t soon forget.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever walked on it,” Wickramarachichi said. “It felt like I was walking on cotton!”

Coming from a tropical part of the globe with an average temperature of 26.5 to 28.5 celsius (79.7 to 83.3 fahrenheit) Wickramarachichi said he has not yet fully adapted to the weather.

“My body isn’t used to it,” Wickramarachichi said. “My parents say it will take two or three years for me to get used to it.”

Sri Lanka, coming in right at 1,000 miles away, has a dominantly tropical climate with no annual snowfall, unlike Wichita Falls.

“In Sri Lanka it is normally hot and humid all year,” Wickramarachichi said. “It’s right on the equator.”

But if there is one thing Wickramarachichi has taken away from his first encounter with snow, it’s to not let its innocent looks fool you.

“It’s very slippery!” he said. “I had a close call with it.”