Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced Tuesday afternoon that all schools and offices will be closed Wednesday because of a winter storm that’s expected to drop 3 to 6 inches of snow on the area.
“With forecasts predicting up to six inches of accumulation by early tomorrow morning, roads, sidewalks, and school campuses will not be safe or accessible for an on-time or delayed opening on Wednesday,” MCPS announced at about 6 p.m. in a community message.
All schools and offices will be closed and all activities and child care programs on Wednesday are canceled. According to the announcement, MCPS teams will “be hard at work” overnight and into the morning, clearing snow from buses, shoveling and plowing snow and “treating school sidewalks and parking lots.”
“This work will likely take throughout the day on Wednesday as we have 211 schools, seven bus depots and other facilities that will all need to be readied for students, staff and visitors,” the announcement said.
The National Weather Service office for the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., issued a winter storm warning Monday afternoon for Montgomery County and other parts of the D.C. area. The warning began at 1 p.m. Tuesday and will end 7 a.m. Wednesday.
The Capital Weather Gang, The Washington Post’s weather reporting team, said Monday the snow forecast for the county is from 3 to 6 inches of accumulation, with a 25% chance of 1 to 3 inches and a 25% chance of 6 to 10 inches.
MCPS encouraged anyone with a vehicle in a school parking lot to remove the vehicle to make it easier for MCPS staff to plow and treat parking lots.
Wednesday will be the fourth snow day of the school year for MCPS. The district has already extended the school year by one day after closing schools for three days due to inclement weather this winter. If there are more closures, additional calendar adjustments would be required.
MCPS schools stayed open Tuesday until their regular dismissal times when other districts, including Prince George’s County, announced early dismissals due to the storm. However, school and community-use activities on Tuesday afternoon and evening were canceled. Those activities included “field trips, games, team practices and programs in schools and on school grounds,” the district said in an email.
“During afternoon dismissal, it will be snowing, but icy and unsafe conditions are not expected until late into the evening,” the district said in the email. “Bus transportation may be delayed on some routes because we have instructed drivers to exercise caution when driving during snow conditions that may temporarily impede visibility.”
