As much as some students may not want to believe it, low temperatures hovering around 20 degrees the past few days have convinced even the doubters that winter is here.

Yesterday, the thermometer dipped to 25 degrees. Today's high is expected to be a frigid 40 Fahrenheit.

"It's really cold. I want to go home," says Allison M. Briscoe '98, a Hawaii native. "At home when it hits the 60s we pull out the parkas... I knew I should have gone to Stanford."

Those craving sun can, also, expect only colder days. Meteorologists forecast that temperatures will average in the 20s over the next few months, according to Ron S. Horwood of the National Weather Service. January and February should see 40 inches of snow.

On the bright side, this winter should not be as frigid as last year's Horwood says. Last winter, a record-breaking 96.3 inches of snow blanketed the Boston area. The lowest temperature recorded was 4 degrees.

"That was about as cold as it drops," Horwood says. "With any kind of wind it could really sting any exposed skin you have."

Students, however, seem to be preparing for the worst that winter may bring. The Mass Army/Navy Store has old some 200 hats and gloves per day for the past few weeks, says assistant manager Bob M. Mungenast.

"The majority are students," Mungenast says. "A lot of California people come in saying. Quick, give me something warm."

Mungenast says he is recommend ing that students buy down coats, which are the warmest available. Accessories and hand warmers have been especially popular, he adds.

Doctors stress the importance of keeping the entire body warm during the winter.

"The circulatory system is less likely to divert blood away from the extremities if the body's core temperature isn't threatened," advises Joan Stephenson in the Harvard Health Letter, a publication of the Harvard Medical School.

Loose, layered clothing provides better insulation than a single heavy garment', according to the newsletter. Lined gloves and mittens, which allow the fingers to warm each other, are also recommended. Head coverings such as hats and scarfs prevent heat loss, doctors say.

But according to David S. Grewal '98 of Los Altos Hills, Calif., cold weather gear may not be enough for him survive this winter.

"I've had to wear a Russian hat," Grewal says. "I bought a coat and had to wear it all fall. That's not a good sign."

With temperatures expected to drop into the teens early next week, some students may try to spend the winter indoors.

"I think I'll stay in my room the entire time," Grewal says. "It's not worth going out to the [Freshman] Union anyway.