snOMG!

[Grace62]

Well it's a beautiful winter wonderland out our windows! More on the way.

When I said "this isn't Montana" I meant relative to our experience and preparation for snow storms. Montana has the experience and handles it much better, of course.
Having kids in school here for the past 15 years, the decisions about snow days have been fair, IMO. Like you said, it's not a perfect science. And the decisions in our district are made based on safety, not "ignorance and politics," whatever that's supposed to mean.
Yes the process your father used is the same as here: they inspect the more dangerous areas at 5 AM. Snow or ice in one part of the district can cancel school for the whole, even though some streets may be fine.

No buses around here have sanders or chains. The problem for buses in our area isn't getting stuck, it's the hills. We don't have enough snow days to warrant the equipment investment nor to take the risks.

Anyway, we have a lot of snow on the ground right now and it was snowing heavily by 8 AM, so definitely it was the right call not to have school today.

Hope you enjoy the weather, and stay safe,
Grace.

[M A V I C]

Grace62 wrote: When I said "this isn't Montana" I meant relative to our experience and preparation for snow storms.

For those in charge of making such decisions, they have no excuse for lack of experience or preparation other than themselves. There's tons of opportunities for them to gain that knowledge, they just choose not to acquire it. That's some of the ignorance I'm referring to.

Having kids in school here for the past 15 years, the decisions about snow days have been fair, IMO. Like you said, it's not a perfect science. And the decisions in our district are made based on safety, not "ignorance and politics," whatever that's supposed to mean.
Yes the process your father used is the same as here: they inspect the more dangerous areas at 5 AM. Snow or ice in one part of the district can cancel school for the whole, even though some streets may be fine.

If your district isn't canceling a school a day or two ahead of time without any evidence to go on, then that's not what I'm referring to. I'm talking about those who canceled or delayed school yesterday. Those decisions are not about safety. If they cared about safety...

No buses around here have sanders or chains.

Sounds like your district doesn't make decisions based on safety. It's such a minor cost, there's no excuse not to have them, other than ignorance and/or politics.

The problem for buses in our area isn't getting stuck, it's the hills. We don't have enough snow days to warrant the equipment investment nor to take the risks.

Huh? Sanding and chains most certainly help on hills as well. There's at least dozens of days each winter where the sanding alone can come in useful. The cost is extremely small - another way to think of it is that it costs roughly 1/8th what the state charges for sales tax on a bus. It costs far more to extend school than it does to install those setups on busses.

Anyway, we have a lot of snow on the ground right now and it was snowing heavily by 8 AM, so definitely it was the right call not to have school today.

[Racer X]

2 hour late start, and a 2 hour early dismissal. And they didn't have lunch. Gotta love their planning. No idea why they didn't feed the kids before they sent them home early.

[M A V I C]

Racer X wrote:
2 hour late start, and a 2 hour early dismissal. And they didn't have lunch. Gotta love their planning. No idea why they didn't feed the kids before they sent them home early.

Yep, and it's partly cloudy, not snowing or raining, and the roads appear to be all clear. 2hr early dismissal it is!

[Grace62]

Still snowing heavily up here, 20 miles north of Seattle.
3 inches so far.
Are we gonna get the 10-12 predicted? We'll see.

I just got an email from a friend who lives in Turkey. She said she read about our "snow storm of a generation" in her city's paper.
Hope it doesn't disappoint!

[M A V I C]

Yeah, we've got a week's worth of food and I'm prepared to work from home for a few days.

Is the 10-12" just for today? Here they're saying 12-20" overnight. And now the rain that was supposed to come on Thurs and Fri is predicted to be snow.

I've been wanting to snowboard down Queen Anne for years, but can't with my shoulder the way it is.

It also sucks to have a bunch of high powered fans blowing all of the heat out of the house Great time to have to cut the walls open.

[AllGold]

If conditions are bad enough that your school buses need chains in the Seattle area, that is probably a good reason to cancel school.

[Racer X]

well, I can assure you that they did not need chains in my neighborhood of Seattle. Bare and wet, and has been since before they let the kids out 2 hours early.

2 hours late start, no lunch, and sent home 2 hours early. Awesome! We never delt with this level of idiocy when I was a student in Seattle 30 years ago.