Winter storm is coming
Following a weekend of Arctic temperatures, we’ve got a winter storm coming that may turn the return to school into a snow day.
Update, and addressing some of the disagreements below, looks like this will really be a storm.
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Kate
Reply
Andrew Kemp 10:45 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
Snow days don’t exist anymore. We got an email yesterday that our daughter’s classes will be online on Monday. ☹️
dhomas 10:52 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
@Andrew Kemp: what school is that, if you don’t mind me asking? Online teaching requires preparation. Lesson plans for in-class teaching cannot necessarily be reused for online learning so teachers cannot necessarily pivot to online teaching at the drop of a hat. It sounds like your daughter’s school is preparing in advance, which is good. But that’s not the case for all schools.
walkerp 14:34 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
Using the “storm” as an excuse to close the school for covid reasons I am okay with, but if they are actually closing because we are getting a decent snowfall, I am not.
Snow accumulating is not a storm.
Max 14:59 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
Environment Canada begs to differ, walkerp.
Blork 15:19 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
Not just accumulation of snow; it’s going to be very windy and blizzardy AF.
walkerp 15:50 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
They are part of the problem.
Please tell me you actually believe this will be anything more than a pain in the ass for car owners and maybe a driving hazard.
dhomas 16:11 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
Well, people need to bring their kids to school, and for some, that is often done by car. So, driving hazards might be a good reason to close schools. Also, school bus drivers are not immune to snow storms, or “snow accumulations” as you call them. This in addition to bus driver shortages. Even if people didn’t want to take their cars, they’re being told they’ll likely need to. Here is a message from my kids’ school:
“due to the current epidemiological situation and the shortage of bus drivers, transportation services might get cancelled at the last minute. If this affects your child(ren)’s bus, we will notify you as soon as possible by email. If your child(ren)’s bus is cancelled, you must kindly make arrangements to drop them off and/or pick them up from the school.”
walkerp 17:27 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
When did we close schools for 15 cm in the past?
The school boards make the call in the morning, which is a good policy. If this turns out to be a devastating whiteout, with blinding conditions, mailboxes ripped out of the sidewalk due to gale force winds, then yes let’s play it safe. But if we get 15 cm accumulation with a bit of wind, come on.
walkerp 17:32 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
dhomas, to your point about online learning, yes if they do call a snow day please let it indeed be a snow day. Give the teachers and staff another day to prepare and let the kids go play in the snow.
Ian 17:48 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
AT CEGEP a lot of us have been preparing both online and in-person lesson plans for the coming term all along, as we have no idea if and when we will be in person or online. While I’m not happy to be back to teaching online, I am relieved not to to have to drive to Ste Anne in a snowstorm that is being predicted as 30-46cm depending on which weather service you go with.
I like Dark Sky and no, that is not my personal address but it’s not far 😉
dhomas 18:33 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
And I just got another email from my kids’ school:
“All schools and adult centres and the head office of the English Montreal School Board will be closed tomorrow (Monday) because of the weather. Follow us on Twitter (@Englishmtl) and on our website for more details.”
A little premature if you ask me… not even a centimeter on the ground yet, and they preemptively closed? The EMSB were usually the last holdouts when it came to snow days.
Tim S. 19:05 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
@walkerp My father, a high school teacher who was not crazy about his job, made a very careful study of the conditions needed for a snow day. It wasn’t the amount, but the timing – you need heavy snow and most importantly wind at about 5 AM, when the school bus companies made the call about whether they could get out on time. How much snow falls over the course of the day, or before 5AM, is irrelevant. And if you check out the hourly forecast, 5AM does look pretty blizzardy.
Meezly 19:15 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
CSSDM has also followed suit. But.. it’s a real snow day. No classes or distance learning at all.
@Tim S. that is interesting. So it’s more about whether school buses can follow their schedules, or is safety also part of it?
walkerp 19:41 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
That is interesting, Tim S. Good to know.
So much for the morning call. Personally, I’m hoping for a huge dump, but since they already closed the schools that will probably jinx it.
Joey 20:15 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
@Andrew you’re in the minority. Seems all the public schools are taking a day off – no virtual classes or anything.
In addition to the school bus/rush hour issue is the challenge of ensuring that teachers and staff can make it in. My impression is that most drive to school and the likelihood of absence/lateness due to weather weighs on the school boards. Can’t have a bunch of kids show up with no adults in the building.
Kevin 21:02 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
15 cm has been the cutoff point since I was a little kid.
With that much coming down throughout the day nothing works.
Blork 22:21 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
15cm is the minimum expected tomorrow. Forecast says 15-25 cm. And wind will be gusting to 70 all morning.
walkerp 23:40 on 2022-01-16 Permalink
We’ll be lucky if it cracks 15.