Public schools expected to be open tomorrow, despite snow
Posted December 19, 2013 10:35 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LOWER MAINLAND (NEWS1130) – Winter officially arrives Saturday, but we’re expecting a good taste of it tomorrow, just in time for the morning commute.
A snowfall should bring five to 10 centimetres throughout the day tomorrow.
No doubt, a lot of kids and parents will be glued to the radio to find out if the schools are closed. But John Lewis, the Superintendent of Schools with the North Vancouver School District, says closures aren’t likely.
“Advance notice that we have today for the forecast is that there will be some snow on the roads during the commute time and then the snow would get heavier during the morning. This information is helpful; it’s also very helpful to our municipalities who have responsibility for the maintenance of roads for safe travel and commuting. We expect that tomorrow, the commute may take a bit longer, with five to 10 centimetres accumulating during the day, but we should be able to have a regular session for all of the schools in the Metro area,” he tells us.
However, Lewis notes there isn’t a specific threshold that triggers a school closure.
“I think that we look at five to 10 centimetres as being a small amount of snow accumulation. We do stay posted to the Canadian weather networks and look at the severe weather storms… where there may be 15 to 25 centimetres’ accumulation. Five to 10 [centimetres] is on the low side of that scale.”
That means they’re not expecting an early Christmas break for students.
“No, in fact, a number of schools will probably have an earlier start to the day tomorrow; there are a number of schools across the Lower Mainland that may have a Santa’s breakfast or a community gathering where they’ll be having an opportunity to get together and sing songs or celebrate in some fashion. Some of those get underway as early as 7 a.m.,” he explains.
If there are any school closures tomorrow, we will list them online at the News1130 Storm Centre.
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