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Growing up in Portsmouth, in the UK, I can only recall one day when we didn't go to school because of snow & that wasn't because the snow was so bad, but because my classroom was a wooden building separate from the main school building & the heating wasn't working...
I grew up in Lyon, France, where snow is not uncommon but where accumulations are not too important.
snow days happened about once a year when I was a kid, as a few cm might be enough to cause trouble.
When I was in high school I had to take a bus to go to class, which was usually cancelled or massively delayed when there was accumulating snow.
December 2010 was the last major snow event, I think there was 30 cm of snow downtown, which means a lot more in the surrounding hills / suburbs. I worked in a school and I heard some people had spent several hours in the trafic to get back home.
I think the winters of 2004/2005 and 2009/2010 were the last really snowy winters in the sense that there were several episodes of accumulating snow from late November to early March with milder periods in between.
I grew up in Lyon, France, where snow is not uncommon but where accumulations are not too important.
snow days happened about once a year when I was a kid, as a few cm might be enough to cause trouble.
When I was in high school I had to take a bus to go to class, which was usually cancelled or massively delayed when there was accumulating snow.
December 2010 was the last major snow event, I think there was 30 cm of snow downtown, which means a lot more in the surrounding hills / suburbs. I worked in a school and I heard some people had spent several hours in the trafic to get back home.
I think the winters of 2004/2005 and 2009/2010 were the last really snowy winters in the sense that there were several episodes of accumulating snow from late November to early March with milder periods in between.
We rarely have snow right here on the south coast of England. But once on Jan 2010, the whole of Hampshire came under a massive Blizzard witch went on heavily for about 12 hours, and lightly for another 24 hours or so. As a result, we got a whole 7 days off! Cause, not being used to snow, the County Cancel had no idea what to do, and we were running out of sand to grit the roads!.. There was also one snow day on my 18th birthday on the 18th January 2013, this meant I couldn't go clubbing, but it did mean I could spent the whole day in the pub with my Dad and Bro rather than being taught Biology, or Maths or something! Was still good enough!
Just to give you a sense of how rare snow is in Portsmouth, before 2009 we hadn't had laying snow since 2004, before that was 1997. So snow is very rare. As my Dad says: "If it snows in Portsmouth, then you know it's bad!"
Thanks for the info! It's too bad Portsmouth doesn't get much. If the gulf stream were cut off would they have more?
What about late starts? Do you play the 2 hour delay game? However I think that is much more reasonable as it still counts as a school day in some districts as long as they get their attendance in.
Some places have new options on attendance cards where schools will be open but you are marked a certain letter or was it a number if the absence is related to weather but you still have to make up work later on you're own.
I am surprised Finland doesn't use those special letters for students who live in hilly areas or hard to reach spots who should wait a day after a big dump.
I grew up in Lyon, France, where snow is not uncommon but where accumulations are not too important.
snow days happened about once a year when I was a kid, as a few cm might be enough to cause trouble.
When I was in high school I had to take a bus to go to class, which was usually cancelled or massively delayed when there was accumulating snow.
December 2010 was the last major snow event, I think there was 30 cm of snow downtown, which means a lot more in the surrounding hills / suburbs. I worked in a school and I heard some people had spent several hours in the trafic to get back home.
I think the winters of 2004/2005 and 2009/2010 were the last really snowy winters in the sense that there were several episodes of accumulating snow from late November to early March with milder periods in between.
How long do you think school was closed during those really bad winters? Also does the power get cut under those heavy snows?
I know you may be exaggerating a bit but this thing about shutting down schools because of snow flurries (usually melting as they touch the ground) has always baffled me. Because I know it does happen in some places. I mean, there is no reason to stay home from school or work if the snow is not accumulating to a significant degree. It has no more of an effect on transport than cold rain does. Yet some places in the world still shut down the town for this. It's all very irrational.
Well said! This is when 1 or two hour delays come in handy and if the forecast is more then 90 percent confident the delay should be called the night before so they can be upgraded to a full closure if warranted.
What about late starts? Do you play the 2 hour delay game? However I think that is much more reasonable as it still counts as a school day in some districts as long as they get their attendance in.
Some places have new options on attendance cards where schools will be open but you are marked a certain letter or was it a number if the absence is related to weather but you still have to make up work later on you're own.
I am surprised Finland doesn't use those special letters for students who live in hilly areas or hard to reach spots who should wait a day after a big dump.
No. School starts when it starts normally, and if you're late you are. Schools have no pressure in fulfilling attendance quotas, kids can be at home a day and it's not a big deal. They will catch up.
The second thing is that we seldom have huge disrupting blizzards here and road management is rather good. The snowfall is usually light, and comes during a long timeframe. For example locations in upstate NY gets on average three times the snow a winter than we do. After a big dump snow vehicles are out at 4 or 5 am, long before schools starts, and by that time roads are already plowed.
Hard to reach spots are very rare, 95% of the population live in urban/suburbanlike cities or villages, and schools are often in a nearby location. Hard to reach spots are mainly in the far northern third of the country, and there lives only 1.5% of the total population.
A dusting of snow is enough to disable our roads, yet alone public schools!
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Thanks for the info! It's too bad Portsmouth doesn't get much. If the gulf stream were cut off would they have more?
