Lawrence Public Schools will be closed Wednesday as extreme cold lingers in the area.
The Lawrence area is under an extreme cold warning until noon Thursday. Wind chills as low as 20° below zero are in the forecast.
“As you know, it was our intention to return to school; however, safety concerns remain due to a variety of factors,” district spokesperson Julie Boyle said in an email to school families. “The continued snowfall and potential for additional accumulation contribute to hazardous road conditions. The dangerously cold wind chills affect the mechanical reliability of school bus transportation, and building heating systems are challenged to sustain warm classrooms.”
Boyle said many students also take city buses to school. Lawrence Transit service is canceled through Thursday.
“We also have concerns with students trying to walk to school on snow-packed sidewalks and without adequate protection from the cold,” Boyle wrote. “Please use this extra day to continue to make cold weather preparations, so we may return to school as soon as we are able to do so safely.”
Tuesday night into Wednesday, temperatures are expected to hit a low of -3°, with wind chills between -8° and -13°, according to the National Weather Service in Topeka. New snow accumulation of less than half an inch on top of additional snow throughout Tuesday evening is possible, according to the forecast.
The coldest temperatures are expected Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The low in the forecast is -13°, with wind chills between -15° and -20°, according to NWS. Friday is expected to see a high near 23°, followed by highs near 38° and 53° Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
See links to more severe weather resources and information below. See this page for more weather coverage.
Additional closures, cancellations and service changes for Wednesday, Feb. 19:
We’ll add to this list as we receive more closures. Post last updated at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18
• Lawrence Transit buses are still out of service. Transit service is expected to return at 8 p.m. Thursday with overnight on demand rides. (Read more about that at this link.)
• The University of Kansas’ Lawrence, Edwards and Leavenworth campuses will be closed. All classes, both in person and online, will be canceled.
• Haskell Indian Nations University’s campus will be closed Wednesday. The dining facility will have a plan in place to make sure students have access to food.
• Lawrence’s Community Police Review Board meeting is canceled.
• The Lawrence Arts Center will be closed until 4 p.m. Classes and activities before 5 p.m. will be canceled.
• Lawrence Meals on Wheels will not deliver on Wednesday but will resume service Thursday.
• The Senior Resource Center for Douglas County, including Senior Wheels, will be closed.
• Veritas Christian School will be closed.
• Eudora schools will be closed.
• Baldwin City schools are closed. Coaches or sponsors will communicate decisions on activities and athletics by noon Wednesday.
“As a district, we have a little over seven days built into our calendar to account for the potential for school closures,” Superintendent Mark Dodge wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday afternoon. “Not having school tomorrow will result in 6.5 snow days used, as our canceled PD day counts as a half-day. I will meet with our administrators this week to discuss options to account for additional time should more cancellations be necessary. Late start days, when used as a safe arrival measure, count as full contact days. I will be sure to keep you updated.”
• Perry-Lecompton Public Schools will be closed Wednesday and Thursday, and activities for both days have been canceled or postponed.
• Basehor-Linwood schools will be closed.
• Santa Fe Trail schools will be closed.
• McLouth schools will be closed.
• Wellsville schools will be closed. The school board meeting has been postponed until 6 p.m. Feb. 26, and the blood drive is rescheduled for March 3.
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Severe weather resources
Get warm in Lawrence:
• See this page for locations to get warm during the day and overnight, where to get help for pets and more.
National Weather Service local office (Topeka):
• Find the latest weather forecast info and severe weather advisories for the Lawrence area at this link.
• In the event of rapidly changing severe weather, such as tornadoes, the NWS posts frequent updates on Twitter, @NWSTopeka. You do not need a Twitter account to see tweets from NWS.
• NWS is also on Facebook, facebook.com/NWSTopeka.
• Call 785-234-2592 to hear the forecast.
City of Lawrence snow info:
• The city has snow information and a map at lawrenceks.org/snow that shows information about road conditions and where snowplows have been. The city typically begins snow and ice control for residential roadways when 2 or more inches of snowfall or icing occurs.
Douglas County Emergency Management:
• Follow @DgCoEM on Twitter or Douglas County, KS- Emergency Management on Facebook, facebook.com/dgcoem.
• Sign up to receive emergency alerts at dgcoks.org/emalerts.
• Find lots of tips on severe weather and other emergency preparedness on DgCoEM’s website at douglascountyks.org/emergency-management.
• Report storm damage (for non-emergencies only, and after storm danger has passed) by calling the nonemergency dispatch line at 785-843-0250 or 785-832-7509.
Evergy outages:
• Check the status of power outages on the Evergy outage map, outagemap.evergy.com.
• Report a power outage at evergy.com/report-outage, or call 800-544-4857.
• For down powerlines, call Evergy’s emergency line, 800-383-1183, if above-ground lines are arcing or making contact with trees or vegetation. Call 911 immediately if overhead power lines are on the ground or a fire starts. Do not go near the line.
Highway conditions beyond Lawrence:
• KanDrive, an app and website from the Kansas Department of Transportation, has info on highway conditions statewide. KanDrive is available online at KanDrive.gov, and its app is available for download free on the App Store and Google Play.
Air quality:
• Check the current air quality index in Lawrence and elsewhere through AirNow, airnow.gov.
This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
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