Suburbs

The Week in Review

The weather stunted a lot of suburban news coverage this week. Well, except for school closings.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the icy conditions and slick roads meant canceling classes in the outlying districts and all the others — like church preschools — that follow the suburban systems’ lead.

By mid-afternoon, students, teachers and support staff were watching with anticipation to see if they had yet another day off. I know one person, probably representing thousands across the county, who watched out the window anxiously for precipitation.

She became really disappointed when the falling stuff was not snow or ice, but rather the melting from atop the house as temperatures crept above freezing.

The crestfallen look provided the realization that the mini vacation probably wouldn’t last the entire week.
A Friday return was imminent.

I will say technology, weather forecasting and timing have greatly improved over the decades. The local experts can predict the icy conditions, whether it is snow, sleet, ice or the dreaded wintry mix. They can tell you what time it is going to arrive and how much to anticipate.

That allows all those school systems to get the announcement out the day before, allowing for plans to ignore the next morning’s alarm clock.

That’s a big change from the days when I had to walk 10 miles to school uphill in the snow carrying both my sisters and their lunchboxes.

(Well, not really. That was my father’s story. But every generation needs to carry that myth as a badge of misery. I actually lived a half-mile from school and only walked when the weather was nice).

Truthfully though, the predictions weren’t exactly accurate 60 years ago. Forecasts of a dusting or a trace of snow could result in a white blanket 10 inches deep or so. And the cancellation of classes may not come until the pre-dawn hours leading to sleepless nights praying for the announcement.

The school districts have it down to a science more these days, and they communicate so the announcement regarding public schools is coordinated.

That just means the prayers for another cancellation come the previous day.

And while watching the ice melt off the roof of the house. - Suburbs editor Clay Bailey

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