November 2018

November 2018 - Weather Memo:  

North Linn Community, Winter weather in Iowa will soon be here and can be very inconvenient for students and parents.  I always like to touch base while everyone is still pleased with our weather decisions, and of course there is always tomorrow. With the exception of the Wapsi going across the road we have been spared so far with any fog or other weather in which a decision needed to be made regarding the status of school.

Before the forecasts get worse, now is a good time to remind everyone about how school closing information will be communicated.  In the event that we need to close school for any reason, we have a variety of ways to communicate that information to our families and staff members.  In the event of school cancellations, delays, or early outs due to inclement weather, road conditions, emergencies, etc. parents and the community will be notified through the schools text messaging system. (i.e., School Alerts).  In addition to School Alerts, we will post information on KCRG, KGAN, KWWL and WMT Radio - 600 AM.

The safety of our staff and students is always our top priority when making decisions to delay or cancel school.  Rightfully so, whenever there are slick road conditions parent concerns seem to increase for the safety of their student driver or children riding on a school bus.    For the most part I think students drive more cautious and safer during inclement weather than they do during normal driving conditions. That probably accounts for why there are generally more accidents involving students on a normal driving day than when the weather is bad.

Outside Factors:  Media weather hype and other school districts sometimes facilitate premature cancellations and can have an effect on the people making weather decisions.  Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, and Snowzilla are terms that weather forecasters have used, sometimes in humor in predicting a forecast. 

There are also some districts such as Iowa City that have a school board policy that they have to make all weather cancellation decisions no later than 8:00 p.m. the night before a cancellation.

Snow Day Calculator:   If you are having a slow day or just want to humor yourself consider using the snow day calculator link below to determine if we are going to have a snow day.  While I don't personally use the calculator some people like to look at it.

http://www.snowdaycalculator.com/calculator.php

It is always difficult to determine whether to have school.  We realize that when school is cancelled it is very disruptive to our families.   Be prepared and let’s hope for a mild winter!