School officials plan for expected weekend snow
On the heels of one of the most significant snowfall accumulations the area has seen in awhile, the National Weather Service is once again predicting winter weather for this weekend.
According to meteorologist Kurt Weber, the snowfall is predicted to begin around 6 or 7 p.m. on Sunday.
“The snow may actually start falling at a pretty good clip on Sunday evening,” Weber said. “It may not stick immediately because temperatures are still supposed to be a little above freezing at the time, but we expect road conditions to become icy around 8 or 9 p.m.”
Weber said the snowfall is expected to end between 4 and 6 a.m. Monday and he expects the north Alabama region to receive anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow.
“There may be a little less snowfall the farther west you go, but we can’t say for sure,” Weber said. “That number could go up or down depending on the conditions we have Sunday evening.”
Weber said there was a possibility the area could receive an additional dusting or some freezing drizzle on Monday and even into Tuesday.
“The temperatures will barely get above freezing on Monday so some of the snow could melt, but it won’t be much,” he said. “Temperatures will be in the 30s from Sunday through Tuesday. Highs will stay right around freezing on Wednesday and the high will dip below freezing on Thursday and Friday.
“If we get any accumulation from the snow on Sunday night, it could be sticking around for awhile.”
With weather like this being predicted, the city and county school systems are already making preparations for the coming week.
“Winter weather is the hardest to predict, but we always base our decision on the report we receive from the Franklin County EMA,” Franklin County Schools Superintendent Gary Williams said.
“The EMA doesn’t advise us as to whether or not we should close the schools, but they are able to provide us with a good idea of what the weather will do so that we can make the best decision.”
Russellville City Schools Superintendent Don Cox said their system also relies on the information from the Franklin County EMA.
He added that he will coordinate with Williams to make the best decision for the students.
“There is no way that we can play God and know what the weather will do, so we obviously won’t be able to get it 100 percent,” Cox said, “but we will always err on the side of safety.
“Obviously we want to be able to have school because we’ll have to lose some of our holidays to make up snow days, but the safety of our students and our employees in our number one priority.”
Cox said he expected they would be able to make a decision Sunday evening as to whether or not the schools would be open on Monday.
Both the city and the county school systems use School Cast, an automated system that can let students, parents and employees know of closings with just one phone call.
“This system has been very useful in the past and we plan to use it this weekend if we make a decision about school on Monday,” Williams said.
In addition to using School Cast, Williams said both the county and city schools will notify the local television and radio stations, as well as using www.fct.wpengine.com.
