The sky is falling!
You’d think that local governments and businesses would eventually stop listening to local weather forecasts, but it hasn’t happened yet. The forecast for yesterday was something along the lines of “The sky is falling, we’re all going to die!” Snow, sleet, and freezing rain were predicted. Schools closed, daycares closed, businesses closed. SW Virginia ground to a halt. So what happened? Some of SW Virginia got snow… I didn’t. My house got zero snow, zero sleet, and zero rain (freezing or otherwise).
Everything here closes when there is the chance things might go wrong. It might get cold today, so schools and daycares all over the region close. Businesses close because employees have to go home and take care of their kids. Closing schools because of cold weather is absurd. Closing schools because of the possibility of cold weather is beyond absurd. Minnesota drops to forty degrees below zero and children are reminded not to go out to the bus too early. Forecasts say that Virginia might hit 25 degrees above zero and children are told to stay home and prepare for the coming ice age.
Even if the forecasts were accurate, which they’re not, this would be ridiculous behavior. Make preparations for inclement weather? Sure. Prepare for closing early? Sure. Send kids home because at some hypothetical point in the future, the weatehr might get bad? NO!
Can’t all just not listen to the forecasts any more?
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Actually, school districts are expected to declare a certain number of snow-days each year. These are “free” paid vacation days for the administration, and the teachers. They don’t coun’t against your sick days and they are accounted for. Of course if you don’t use them up in the winter months you loose them.
So usually if it’s the middle of the winter and they forecast looks bad, a school district may opt to just spend one of their allocated snow-days and give everyone a breather – whether or not it actually comes true.
Of course if you go over the limit then you have to make up for these days during the summer, because of the regulations and etc… So on a particularly bad winter, you might actually see school buses driving around in a blizzard, because the allocated snow day quota for the year was spent and the administration is hoping against all the odds that the conditions will start to improve as the day goes. If it doesn’t stop snowing then they call it a half day or an early dismissal or something like that which means the get less hours that they need to make up in the summer.
At least that’s how it seems to be working here in NJ. It might be a bit different in Virginia, but I’m guessing they most likely have something very similar going.
Comment by Luke — February 2, 2007 @ 11:30 am
Probably right. There is something inherently wrong though with a school in Virginia taking significantly more snow days than any school in Minnesota. In know teachers in Minnesota who can’t remember ever taking a snow day.
Comment by HDW — February 2, 2007 @ 11:38 am
For Roanoke County to begin next term’s school year before Labor Day they must accumulate at least five snow days this year so that they meet the “average” over a ten year period. It’s a ridiculous law that was only meant to benefit the amusement parks, restaurants, hotels, etc. so they could keep their cheap labor until Labor Day. It drives me crazy because the kids still make up each day they miss anyway, taking the days from holiday weekends, etc. All localities should be able to decide when they want to start the school year and not have to follow this anitquated law. BTW, we didn’t receive any snow here either and I believe if the law didn’t exist the kids would have gone into school and then if it started to snow would have gotten out earlier, which makes a lot mroe sense.
Comment by Ms. Elenaeous — February 2, 2007 @ 6:12 pm
We got the same thing (Georgia) – we got sleet/snow – but it didn’t get below freezing so it was gone very quickly.
I keep thinking that as technology keeps improving that weather predictions might become ore dependable. Apparently not! lol
BTW – that’s for the head’s up about my post on skinny models – that was dumb of me! I appreciate you letting me know :)
Comment by beth — February 2, 2007 @ 7:52 pm
People around here do the same thing. My theory (clueless as it may be), is that not enough things in the modern world challenge or frighten people any more, so they manufacture things to challenge and frighten themselves with.
Comment by jan — February 2, 2007 @ 11:17 pm