How do schools decide when to close/delay during cold weather?

Subzero wind chills are likely late Tuesday night into Friday morning as arctic air pours into the region.

Actual air temperatures will be in the single digits Wednesday and Thursday, with record lows possible Thursday morning across the area.

A number have schools have already canceled or delayed classes for Wednesday, but how do they decide?

Most school districts will start monitoring weather reports the evening before and early morning on the day of.

TRENDING NOW:

The Bethel Park School District says delaying school is always preferable to closing, but the safety of staff and students is always the determining factor.

The North Allegheny School District said they have guidelines in place that help them make the decision to cancel early or delay school.

When it comes to cold weather, they said they will generally call a 2-hour delay if the forecast calls for a wind chill advisory of 20 degrees below 0 or less. They said they will generally cancel if the forecast calls for a wind chill warning of more than 20 degrees below 0.

The Greensburg Salem School District is just one of the districts across the area that have a lot of kids that walk to school. Superintendent Dr. Gary Peiffer has already decided to close schools on Wednesday and Thursday.

"We’re looking at the sustainability of these lows and how long they’re going to run and looking at national weather data as well as local weather data," he said. "It’s not a question of if it’s going to warm up, so if they get in and we send them home, I have to think of all these kids walking home in arctic, extreme, hazardous wind chills."

Cox Media Group