Update – 4 p.m. – MCPS officially decided to close schools Friday at 3:48 p.m. Thursday afternoon. Schools will be closed Friday, although administrative offices will be open until noon. All Friday afterschool and weekend activities at public schools have been canceled.
Original story – 2:30 p.m. – Montgomery County Public Schools is continuing to weigh whether to close schools or dismiss classes early Friday as a possibly historic snowstorm approaches the region.
MCPS spokesman Derek Turner said Thursday afternoon the school system will make a decision about closure by 5 a.m. Friday morning.
“We’re looking at all the factors and could make a decision earlier,” Turner said.
He said when inclement weather strikes, the school system focuses on the safety of its students, but “we always have to consider losing an educational opportunity.”
Other school systems have already made the call. D.C. Public Schools and the Howard County Public School System have canceled classes Friday. Montgomery College announced it will close at noon Friday and remain closed Saturday and Sunday. Carroll County Public Schools announced it will close schools three hours early Friday. The University of Maryland has also closed its campus Friday, Saturday and Sunday; although the weekend move-in for students beginning this semester will happen as scheduled.
A decision to close schools Friday rather than dismiss students early may be premature due to predictions about when the storm will hit. The National Weather Service at noon issued its latest update on the approaching blizzard, predicting it will begin to snow heavily Friday afternoon and blizzard conditions are expected to continue through Saturday. The weather service predicts between 18 to 24 inches will fall in the region.
Those totals would mark the storm as one of the biggest to strike the county, in terms of total snowfall. A Wednesday night squall already demonstrated how dangerous roads can become as about an inch of snow and below-freezing temperatures resulted in slick roads that left commuters stranded or struggling for hours to get home.
Turner said MCPS officials will continue to monitor weather forecasts about the approaching snowstorm. The lack of an early decision concerning school closures is not unusual for the county school system—MCPS regularly waits until the early morning to make decisions on whether to close schools, so area students and parents may have to remain patient until a decision is reached.
The process for Monday is much easier—MCPS will already be closed for students due to a previously scheduled professional day.
