Icy roadways and life-threatening cold weather will result in a third snow day this week after Piedmont Public Schools students and staff were off Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thursday will also be too icy for school.
The district will take a snow day with no remote work required of students on Thursday, Feb. 20.
City Hall will reopen at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Public works crews have treated areas, and drivers are urged to slow down due to icy streets.
The days off this week for students required no virtual learning assignments, just snow days with no homework, however.
An announcement from the Piedmont Public Schools District read Monday afternoon, Feb. 17, read:
“We are expecting extreme cold and winter weather to impact our community in the coming days. While it is challenging to predict the exact amount of freezing rain, sleet, or snow we may receive, forecasts indicate that wind chills could drop well below zero, with some predictions suggesting temperatures as low as -10 to -15 degrees.”
“Due to the severe wind chills and anticipated inclement weather, Piedmont Public Schools will be closed on Tuesday, Feb. 18, and Wednesday, February 19.
“Please note that these days will 𝐧𝐨𝐭 be virtual – no school and no assignments. Piedmont Public Schools has additional days/hours built into the calendar; therefore, we will not add days to our school year due to this closure. We understand students learn best in person with their teacher, and we can’t wait to have our Wildcats back in class. Thank you for your understanding. Stay safe and warm, Wildcats!”
In the nearby Deer Creek Schools District, Tuesday, Feb. 18 and Wednesday, Feb. 19 were declared virtual school days with students expected to complete virtual assignments.
In Yukon, schools moved to virtual, remote learning for Tuesday, Feb. 18 and Wednesday, Feb. 19 due to the freezing temperatures.
Mustang Schools announced distance, remote learning declared for Tuesday, Feb. 18, a district announcement read.
The National Weather Service forecast for Tuesday, Feb. 18 showed wind chills dipping to minus 9 degrees on Tuesday and minus 15 degrees below zero on Wednesday.
An extreme cold warning was issued by the weather service that ended at noon Thursday, Feb. 20.
Temperatures are expected to warm up to a balmy 32 degrees on Friday in central Oklahoma. The high temperature Thursday was expected to be about 21 degrees, the weather service reported.
Numerous wrecks were reported by state and local authorities Tuesday morning after freezing rain fell overnight as temperatures plummeted, leaving black ice, or ice that was not visible to the eye after daylight, until too late for some. Injuries on ice are a common call for emergency dispatchers during icy weather.
Police in Oklahoma City typically do not respond to non-injury traffic accident calls during icy weather. Numerous injury accidents kept local law officers busy.
Meanwhile, Emergency snow routes were cleared by street crews. More snow fell in northwest parts of the Oklahoma City metro area and in southern Kingfisher County and northern Canadian County.
An extreme cold warning was issued until noon Thursday with wind chills as low as minus 15 to minus 25 below zero.
Such extreme cold can result in cases of frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes exposure, the National Weather Service warned in their advisory issued Tuesday.
People were urged to dress in layers and wear hats, facial coverings and gloves if outdoors.
Tuesday by noon light snow fell in the Piedmont vicinity.
The forecast on Tuesday showed a 40% chance of snow until 9 p.m. with wind gusts up to 28 mph.
There were reports of 1 inch to 3 inches of snow in the system. The high temperature Wednesday was 15 degrees and just 18 degrees for Thursday. Saturday, though, temperatures were expected to rise to a sweltering 48 degrees.
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