As the winter chill tightens its grip on the Chicago area, school officials have announced a slew of closures and e-learning implementations ahead of forecasted subzero temperatures, according to NBC Chicago. While students enjoyed a day off on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, including those at Chicago Public Schools, the excessive cold has extended the hiatus from classroom learning as the cold weather advisory impacts much of Northeastern Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
Set to brave a bitter Tuesday with morning lows around a frigid -6 degrees and wind chills plummeting to between -15 and -25, as many as 13 Chicago-area schools have confirmed their doors will stay closed or they will turn to remote learning in a bid to ensure student and staff safety, the Emergency Closing Center reports. The district schools making this weather-prompted pivot include Harvey District #152 and Homewood District #153 alongside others gyrating to the rhythms of this freeze.
Schools that have opted for closure envelop parts of Northwest Indiana as well, with City of Hobart Schools shuttering against the cold, NBC Chicago details. Several childcare centers such as Mary Crane Centers and Horizon Science Academy locations in Chicago have followed suit. The Chicago Public Schools calendar marks Tuesday as a "school improvement day," meaning the weather's not the culpril for their lack of regular sessions.
For those seeking the latest updates on school operational changes, WGN provides a platform to submit new closings via their website, where the full forecast with additional details can also be found at the WGN Weather Center blog. Relief from this frostbite-inducing weather is on the horizon, with NBC 5 Meteorologist Pete Sack forecasting a slight climb to the low 20s by Wednesday, yet wind chills are expected. There's more snow chances as the week marches towards the weekend.
