Snow Days

This is one of the tough calls for a school district to make.

It is particularly difficult in our little corner of the world where weather changes very rapidly.

Today there was no winter weather advisory, no mention of the possibility of freezing fog or mist. No mention of snow until Tuesday. A mostly clear night led to frozen roads early and by 6:30am freezing rain turned to snow. There were three accidents reported by ODOT on Highway 30.

It's just before noon as I write this and some light snow mixed with rain is coming down. Granted, the roads, for the most part, have been passable on the flat but early on the hills were icy about the time kids would have been getting to bus stops.

Then there is another problem with gauging when to cancel school as opposed to a delay. What will conditions be like when it's time to get those kids back home? What will the risk be then?

When temperatures hover around freezing roads can be perfectly alright in some areas and slippery a block away.

In considering all these factors it's not surprising that school is sometimes cancelled when it doesn't appear to be necessary causing an inconvenience for working parents, many of whom have called me or commented about today's decision. To those I ask you to consider what your opinion might have been if a bus had slid off a road?

It's a very tough call.