when does school close? (Fairbanks: work, contract, banks)

[froggin4colorado]

I have been dying to ask this... how bad does the weather have to get before school gets cancelled.
I am in Colorado Springs and I laugh everytime school is delayed or cancelled. If it snowed the night before, we have a 2 hour delay. If it is currently snowing, delay or cancellation. I can't imagine you all play this hilarious game!

[Xa'at]

Schools close during bad weather? This is a concept I'm not familiar with.

[Arcticthaw]

In Fairbanks, we don't get the thick wet snow like you folks do, so school only closes if the busses can't run. That means a real freak snow storm that dumps a foot of snow or more likely when we get freezing rain that makes the roads slick. All our busses are equipped with automatic tire chains. Cold temps, well I walked to school many a times in -45. Minus 50 my personal rule is don't open the door and let the heat out!

[ASpilot2be]

Originally Posted by Xa'at

Schools close during bad weather? This is a concept I'm not familiar with.

Same here. I have gone to school in two feet of snow. All I had to do was fire up the snowmachine and roll

[Arcticthaw]

Originally Posted by ASpilot2be

Same here. I have gone to school in two feet of snow. All I had to do was fire up the snowmachine and roll

Snowmachine? I guess either we were too poor or whatever, Oh yea, they were just being invented and were scaress. Had to walk through drifts occasionally up to 6 foot tall, not an issue for a kid though!

[ASpilot2be]

Originally Posted by Arcticthaw

Snowmachine? I guess either we were too poor or whatever, Oh yea, they were just being invented and were scaress. Had to walk through drifts occasionally up to 6 foot tall, not an issue for a kid though!

Luckily we never had drifts that large. I hated the thick sheets of ice on my route though.

[froggin4colorado]

Now you have a reason to laugh at Colorado Springs. We see a flake and schools are delayed. If anything is on the ground, delayed. If it is snowing, CLOSED. Our buses don't have chains and quite a few snow days are built into the school year. The most hilarious part- when school closes, parents and kids STILL go out and get shopping done, play in the snow, etc...

[DannyL]

last winter was a normal winter, so there was never an "off" day. 2 years ago when we had our record dump there were 2 individual days when school was cancelled (not 2 days in a row, but 2 seperate days). Ans it was not due to getting so much snow, it was called a "sidewalk day". The maintanance workers never were able to get the sidewalks cleared of ice and crap by 8 a.m., so the kids got a day off due to the safety issues.
Other than that, life goes on no matter what.

[DannyL]

Originally Posted by ASpilot2be

Same here. I have gone to school in two feet of snow. All I had to do was fire up the snowmachine and roll

here the plows run all night, and individuals can pick up some serious money by "contract plowing", i.e. mounting a small plow on the front of their pickup trucks.
younger guys earn extra cash by mounting a small plow on the front of their 4-wheeler and doing the sidewalks. A 4-wheeler is the perfect size for most of the sidewalks and one guys can knock out serveral blocks in no time.

[akck]

Originally Posted by DannyL

last winter was a normal winter, so there was never an "off" day. 2 years ago when we had our record dump there were 2 individual days when school was cancelled (not 2 days in a row, but 2 seperate days). Ans it was not due to getting so much snow, it was called a "sidewalk day". The maintanance workers never were able to get the sidewalks cleared of ice and crap by 8 a.m., so the kids got a day off due to the safety issues.
Other than that, life goes on no matter what.

I believe there was one optional day this year where it had snowed 6" and was expected to dump another foot. They excused absences for safety reasons, but busses did run (maybe a little late), and school was open. I think the Federal building closed early that day.