Flurries begin: As some schools close precautionarily
Spudnuts appears open for business in north Belmont as traffic flows smoothly on Avon Street at 7:59am Tuesday.PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER
Snow flurries have decorated the skies over downtown Charlottesville intermittently this Tuesday morning, as several Central Virginia school systems have already decided to shut down, in anticipation of a storm system that hasn't really erupted yet.
According to the NBC29 list, the public schools in Louisa, Buckingham, Nelson, and Fluvanna Counties have shut their doors. One school that seems to have paid closer attention to the National Weather Service's prediction that snow won't begin in earnest until mid-day is Open Door Christian School, which will close at noon. At the time of this posting, the NWS prediction for Nelson today is this: "Snow, mainly after 1pm. High near 31. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of around an inch possible."
Note to the new city manager: You've had a plow-equipped Public Works truck driving around in circles atop the Market Street Parking Garage for at least the past half hour.
12:28pm update: Albemarle has announced that it will close its middle and high schools in half an hour: 1pm. Now you can leave work, get in a car, and pick up them up. Have fun!
26 comments
if you don't know where you live, something's wrong with you, you don't deserve to live around us
"This is why our children rank number 35 in a list of 57 countries."
That was a close one. If we were 36th the world wouldn't have electricity and most of the other technologies discovered here.
Albemarle closing its middle and high schools in half an hour: 1pm. Now you can leave work, get in a car, and pick up them up. Have fun!--hawes spencer
I am a Charlottesville native and I remember growing up here the winters were a lot worse as a rule than they are now. Schools did not close because of the threat of 1-2 inches of snow..and guess what!..school buses didn't have seat belts back then either. Putting aside the issue of child care, etc., I think it's absolutely ridiculous to close schools because of the threat of a little snow.
If parents are worried what to do with children when schools are closed then they have become dependent on the state for childcare services. You need to be more independent than that.
Parent of 3 and grandparent to 4. No, it may not be easy but choices have to be made. And plans to be made in anticiapation of events such as this. Just dont think, in my humble opinion, that depending on the state for child care is a good choice. But yes, I am old "school".
Okay....when I grew up in Connecticut in the 80s they didn't close schools because some flurries started. Half the time we were lucky if the school was willing to open late. Let alone completely close. And that's with multiple inches of snow.
I think modern society has gotten a bit wimpy.
Connecticut gets lots of snow and invests in the plow trucks and personnel to accommodate it. You no longer live in Connecticut.
I...I....don't live in Connecticut anymore??? oh my lord....wow...I mean, thanks for pointing that out. If you hadn't I would have continued to go about my life thinking I was there....when I'm really here!
I just...I don't understand how all these years I could have thought I was still there....how did I not notice this?!?! How did this happen?? WHO AM I?!?!?!?!
@boooo! - I think modern society has gotten a bit litigious.
@parent - There are many people who simply can't do that as often as the schools get closed when there isn't actually any reason on the ground to close them. They're working two jobs or they don't have any leave because the job they do have isn't a good one. Or they can take the day off but they have to do so without pay. Not good options.
I'm not arguing for a moment that the school system should put anyone in danger but it's not a trivial thing for parents when the schools are closed and I expect it's incredibly frustrating when they're closed without any snow.
Bottom line is that those who are happily employed full-time can likely cope with it. Those that are barely employed full-time or overemployed but underpaid get hit pretty hard.
well, ontheroad, part of the problem is that it is considered neglect to leave a child at home alone. And, believe it or not, it is not easy to arrange childcare for an entire day at a moment's notice.
Granted, when I was a child and home sick, I got caught up on my Bob Barker and Guiding Light. Now you simply can't park a kid in front of a TV and leave them there all day.
Your judgmental tone leads me to believe that you are not, in fact, a parent and have no idea what it's like to raise a child in the 21st century. I could be wrong, however.....
And my previous post regarding the Civil War was in jest, of course.
meanwhile, who wouldn't be happy that the south lost the civil war? I'm not sure what your point is. It is illogical for southern states to spend a lot of tax money on weather problems that occur here rarely. If you wish to cry about the lack of snow services in a place that does not often receive significant snowfall, that is certainly your right. Enjoy.
Col. Forbin, maybe if Virginians were better able to put up with the natural elements like snow and ice they would have done better in the only war they ever fought against states like Connecticut?
I'm just saying.....
Yikes, meanwhile, that's kind of harsh. I've never been a fan of the whole "holding onto the Civil War rivalry" thing myself. It's the whole "divide and conquer" tactic that the powers that wannabe like to employ to keep everybody distracted, fighting with perceived enemies so meanwhile the real threats can quietly take over.
That aside, I'm hoping for a good snow today. weeeeeeeeeeee!
Schools close because of flurries? This is why our children rank number 35 in a list of 57 countries.
I can understand that counties with a lot of narrow, steep mountain roads have to handle school closings for snow differently.But most of those counties listed are flatlands.
Actually, its the mountainous counties that seem to handle snow clearing better.I have been to Highland County a day or so after a big snow and the roads have been fine.
I grew up in Rappahannock County, with lots of narrow, mountain roads, and yes we did miss considerable time for snow back in the 50s and 60s.
But we never shut the schools because it looked like it "might" snow. If school started and and snowing began and it looked like it could get bad, they simply closed earlier and got in a day that would not have to be made up.
I'd rather have the schools closed, I don't believe you can't find the way to take care of your kid for one day, even if you're happily full-time employed, than to hear about some accident involving school bus... and just try to imagine all the comments in that case
They close schools way too often because they refuse to put seat belts on the buses.
Interesting. What possible reason would a public works truck be doing circles on top of the garage for? Putting salt down maybe? Or just plain goofing off? I would have to be on the goofing off possibility.! :)
You're entirely welcome, boooo! Perhaps some soothing chamomile tea, ye of little self-knowledge. I know it's a shock to the system to realize that it is, as they say, a big country and there are regional differences. I, for example, grew up in Virginia in the 80s, and they closed the schools every single time there were flurries.
"jeezlouise, If we were 34th, you might have learned enough.."
Quit splitting hairs. You know exactly what I mean. Quit being a Euro-snob.
jeezlouise, Since you apparently have no idea what you mean, I could hardly be expected to. I could guess that you meant the work of the Serbian Nikola Tesla or the German Charles Steinmetz who gave us alternating current. Good thing those guys made it to school through the snow.
jeezlouise, If we were 34th, you might have learned enough history to know that electricity wasn't discovered here.
there are millions of kids in India, Vietnam and Micronesia who never stay home b/c of snow. No wonder they are kicking our butts in math and science.
Am I the only one who expects a headline to consist of real words? Precautionarily is not in my dictionary. Can anyone "refudiate" that?
Nothing like adding a suffix to an adjective and turning it into an adverb. That's creativenous for you. :D
Splen-daffotastical Conan! Fantabulicious! Absodefilutely!