Is it just me or are snow days abundant for kids (Columbus: high school, university)

[scarecrow-]

Seems like this past month the kids have had more than a week off just in weather days. Lucky! I went to school in hawaii and Florida, would have loved to wake up and see that school was cancelled

[unfocused]

Yeah it seems like it. I graduated high school in 1977 in Mansfield Ohio. Id say the whole seven years of jr high and high school we were off for weather maybe 5 or 6 days. It had to snow a lot more than it did last night for school to be cancelled.

[Bodycount]

Grew up in Michigan. We never had this many snow days. I remember snow over a foot high and still going to school.

The one thing that helped though was Michigan snow plows actually did their job and went down side streets. That's why school was rarely ever closed. Buses could drive just fine. Here the plows seem lost and confused and they won't even touch the side streets.

[Natural510]

The issue, at least in my town, is the limited area buses operate within city limits. I believe if you live less than two miles from school here, you have to walk or find your own transportation. So it is dangerous for kids to trek through sub-zero weather or six inches of snow on foot.

[Zen_master]

Was just having this conversation with a colleague earlier today alongside the water cooler. His kids were on 2 hour delay.

The answer is yes, kids 'nowadays' are receiving snow days and cancelation notices for events that we, twenty years ago, would have suffered through and been required to attend school. I recall zero instances of school canceling due to it being too cold. Now it is a common occurrence. Further, I recall when I was in university we received the first snow day in something like two decades. It was a ton of snow, nearly a foot of accumulation. And that was the only one during my tenure. Now I'm hearing from current students university was canceled a few times last year, in part due to extreme cold. Seems society is simply getting soft.

[loudo2002]

Just moved to Columbus in Sept after living in WI and Chicago most of our lives. These snow days are ridiculous. 3 inches and you get a day off? Give me a break. It snowed 3 inches in WI every other day in the winter and the kids were just fine going to school.

Toughen up Columbus

[ohioaninsc]

Grew up in the snow belt east of Cleveland...went to school many a times after a night w/ heavy snow accumulations over a foot...even w/ side roads NOT cleared. I used my cross country skis to get to school often.

The only 2 things that cancelled school were ice storms, and when wind chills dropped to 20 below 0. Never for snow.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by unfocused

Yeah it seems like it. I graduated high school in 1977 in Mansfield Ohio. Id say the whole seven years of jr high and high school we were off for weather maybe 5 or 6 days. It had to snow a lot more than it did last night for school to be cancelled.

To be fair, the 7 years leading up to 1977 (with the exception of 1976-77) had generally mild, snowless winters.

Since 2002, Columbus has seen several snow events in the top 10 since 1878, and more winters than not have seen above normal snowfall, so it's been a snowy period. That's why perception is not exactly true when it comes to weather. People say the older days were worse, but not necessarily. The period between 1930-1959 had almost no cold, snowy winters at all. Same for 1970-1976, and again from 1986-1992.

[ohioaninsc]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

To be fair, the 7 years leading up to 1977 (with the exception of 1976-77) had generally mild, snowless winters.

Since 2002, Columbus has seen several snow events in the top 10 since 1878, and more winters than not have seen above normal snowfall, so it's been a snowy period. That's why perception is not exactly true when it comes to weather. People say the older days were worse, but not necessarily. The period between 1930-1959 had almost no cold, snowy winters at all. Same for 1970-1976, and again from 1986-1992.

True...but 3" of snow should never be closing schools.

I understand if we have 9 or 10" or more...or ice...but the 2 snow events that have cancelled schools were no where near bad enough to warrant that.

[Redgrasshat]

Originally Posted by ohioaninsc

True...but 3" of snow should never be closing schools.

I understand if we have 9 or 10" or more...or ice...but the 2 snow events that have cancelled schools were no where near bad enough to warrant that.

In the instance you mention, they were not canceling school because snow had made travel overly dangerous or impossible, rather they are canceling school to avoid angry calls from people with soiled pants that have lost touch with reality.