While those vacationing in states below the snow belt enjoyed unseasonably warm weather, heavy snow and rain in the Northwest and Midwest forced some Harvard students to alter their plans.

Shakibria Anderson '00 lucked out.

Although she lives in recently rain- and snow-ravaged Seattle, Anderson visited Louisiana over the holiday.

"Someone was looking out for me," Anderson said, noting that her vacation was warm and pleasant.

Marco B. Simons '97 was not as fortunate.

He saw more than two feet of snow fall in his hometown of Bainbridge Island, Wash.

Although electrical outages and rain are not uncommon in his part of the country, Simons said the power failures and weather-related problems were "close to the worst I've ever seen."

Simons said he had to cancel plans to visit Canada over break due to the weather, but he was able to return to Cambridge on schedule.

Katie Wink '00 spent break at her home in Milwaukee, and was surprised by the frigidity of weather in the land of cheese and beer.

Although Wink said she expects below-zero temperatures and lots of snow, she forgot she would be facing a "different kind of cold" after spending months in comparatively balmy Boston.

According to Wink, temperatures were so low in the Wisconsin countryside that milk froze in the cow's udders and city dwellers were reduced to eating beer popsicles.

The trip back to campus did not offer Wink much solace. She faced delays in Milwaukee due to heavy fog.

Forecasts for Seattle predict more rain for today and tomorrow. Students returning to Harvard for reading period should expect cold and dry weather conditions, a welcome break for those who faced heavy precipitation over break