A heavy snowfall that started yesterday prompted safety concerns that resulted in a rare decision to close schools in the region.
“We’ve closed in Sundre and Cremona, rarely, once or twice in the past nine years,” said Kurt Sacher, superintendent of the Chinook’s Edge School Division during a phone interview on Friday, March 8.
“We typically do not close the schools,” said Sacher.
Procedures were revised some seven years ago following a major blizzard to include provisions to shutter schools in the face of heavy snowfalls that make travelling on the roads too dangerous for staff, he said.
“It’s all about safety…there was just no hope of the weather clearing in time for them to safely get in,” he said.
The school division’s officials are also concerned about students and their families during such conditions, as when the decision to cancel buses is made, people might choose to drive in, he said.
Although classes sometimes remain open even when buses are cancelled, the division will ultimately decide to close schools when a minimum level of staffing cannot be guaranteed, he said.
“We had such a significant snowfall that it made travel unsafe for staff, and we didn’t feel we’d have enough staff to be operational.”
While schools were closed in Cremona, Sundre, Carstairs, Didsbury, Reed Ranch, as well as Olds and surrounding area, some — in Bowden, Innisfail, Penhold, Sylvan Lake, and Spruce View — remained open, albeit with limited bus services, he said.
“Using the information we had, we drew the line at Olds,” he said, adding such calls are, “not a perfect science and a difficult decision to make.”
By 6:30 a.m. on Friday, March 8, the decision was made to close the aforementioned schools, with notifications on the radio informing the public before 7 a.m., he said.
“It’s rare when we close schools,” he said.
But considering the circumstances, he added the division made the best decision it could with the information available.
As of earlier Friday morning, at least 30 centimetres of snow had accumulated in the area, said Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada during a phone interview, adding that amount had probably been exceeded by the time she spoke with the Round Up just after noon.
However, Lang said the snowfall was not widespread.
“It’s a small system that’s not affecting the biggest areas,” she said, adding mostly west-central Alberta was impacted.
“Calgary’s got nothing,” she said, adding Edmonton, however, was getting plenty of snow.
The storm system, which she said looks “beautiful” on satellite images, made its way from the West Coast, where some lightning strikes had even been reported. That means there is lots of energy and moisture fuelling the storm, she added.
But the snowfall was expected to slowly tapper off before the end of Friday as the system weakened along its trajectory into Saskatchewan, she said, adding milder conditions were expected in the coming days.
The high forecasted on Saturday was -3 C, with temperatures clawing their way back up into the single digit positives by Sunday and Monday, she said.
Officials remind everyone that spring has not yet arrived, and that people should be prepared to drive for the conditions and avoid being lulled into complacency, she said, adding there was a “huge mess” of crashes in Edmonton on Friday morning.
“We’re still in winter, and we can still get these heavy snows,” she said.
“We still have a ways to go before we’re in the clear.”
The Town of Sundre road crew was busy clearing roads on Friday following a substantial snow fall of more than 30 centimetres, which prompted the Chinook’s Edge School Division to cancel classes for the day at numerous schools, including Sundre.
Meanwhile, some Sundre residents did not seem to mind all of the snow.
“This is the winter we've been waiting for!” said Stephanie McNeil, who was among a few adults supervising a group of children sledding at Snake Hill on Friday afternoon.
“This is the best day ever!” exclaimed her son Lincoln Smith, 7, after finishing one of several runs on a toboggan with his friend Jarred Rock, 7.
Maeve Petersen, 4, was among a group of children who took advantage of Friday’s heavy snow fall to go sledding at Snake Hill.
