It was just icy enough, just early enough, for Montgomery County Public Schools students to win another day off of school. But they might regret it later.
This is the fifth snow day of the season for the district, but only four days are built in the calendar. That means adding another day on to the end of the school year—and since the year ends on Friday, it would mean losing a weekend and returning for Monday, June 15—unless the district asks the state for a waiver, as it did last year.
“At this point students and parents and staff should plan on a day being added on at the end of the year,” said MCPS spokesman Dana Tofig.
This morning, most commuters found roads to be pretty clear by the time they headed in to work, but the icy conditions still came with an increased number of traffic accidents and downed trees, says Montgomery County Police Officer Nicole Gamard. “It helped, of course, that schools were off. That puts less traffic on the roadway. But when I was driving today, the sidewalks weren’t great, so you have people walking in the street.”
Police spokesman Pete Piringer’s advice on Twitter: “Walk like a penguin.”
Icy conditions…..sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, ramps, bridges, overpasses ….. You get the idea ! pic.twitter.com/PJgnw6NCd5
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) March 2, 2015
With more wintry weather set for this week, Montgomery County residents could see more slippery streets in the future. Tuesday’s forecast calls for snow, sleet and freezing rain. After a warmer, wetter Wednesday, snow returns to the forecast Wednesday night and Thursday—just in time for the school buses to run.
That’s the way it’s been this winter, Tofig says. “A lot of it has been snow or ice shortly before we make the decision.”
So far, though, it’s shaping up to be a pretty average year for school snow days. The average number of snow days at MCPS for the past 15 years is 4.46. Here’s how they shaped up:
2014-15: 5 (so far)
2013-14: 10
2012-13: 3
2011-12: 0
2010-11: 4
2009-10: 9
2008-09: 3
2007-08: 2
2006-07:4
2005-06: 2
2004-05: 3
2003-04: 6
2002-03: 10
2001-02: 0
2000-01: 3
1999-2000: 6
