Elementary and secondary schools in the London, Ont. area will be closed on Friday as the region braces for a significant winter storm that’s set to ramp up Friday and continue into the Christmas weekend.
Officials with the Thames Valley District (TVDSB) and London District Catholic (LDCSB) school boards announced on Thursday that all of their schools would be closed on Friday due to the anticipated weather.
“Staff and students are advised to remain home,” the statement from TVDSB reads, adding that students would not be taking part in learning activities, including remote learning.
On-site child care centres and before/after school programs would also be closed, TVDSB officials said.
“The safety of all students, staff, and community members is a priority and decisions related to school closures are not made lightly.”
In a separate statement, LDCSB officials said the decision to close schools on Friday “was made early in order to give families time to prepare, and most importantly, in the best interests of everyone’s safety.”
Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for all of southern Ontario, calling for snowfall amounts of 5 to 15 cm by Saturday morning, strong wind gusts resulting in blowing snow, wind chill values into the minus 20s and flash freezing.
The agency has advised against non-essential travel, as combined snowfall and damaging winds are expected to create dangerous driving conditions across the province along with likely outages.
London French-language public schools will also be closed for the day on Friday, according to Conseil scolaire Viamonde.
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The board’s administrative offices and daycare centres will also be closed, an online statement from the board reads.
“The decision (was) made pre-emptively to ensure the safety of all students and staff. Thus, we ask students to bring their personal belongings at the end of the day today, as access to schools will not be possible” until students return to class on Jan. 9, a machine-translated version of the statement reads.
French-language Catholic schools in London-Middlesex, Bruce-Grey and Oxford will be closed on Friday as well, according to Conseil scolaire catholique Providence.
The closures aren’t limited to elementary and secondary schools.
Fanshawe College says it plans to close all of its campuses at noon on Friday in anticipation of the severe weather.
“We will continue to serve students remotely until 4:30 p.m. We acknowledge that weather conditions may vary depending on the location you are travelling from,” the college said in a statement on its website.
“Please exercise judgment based on your individual circumstances with respect to safe travel during inclement weather. Weather will continue to be monitored over the next 24 hours. Please check with the College for updates on Friday morning before coming to Campus.”
Western University held its last day of exams on Thursday, meaning the weather should have no major impact on its operation, but Global News has reached out to the university for comment.
With frigid temperatures expected to come with the storm, the Middlesex-London Health Unit on Thursday issued a one-day cold weather alert for the region, its first of the season.
The health unit says it issued the alert as windchill values of -25 C are expected in the afternoon on Friday and -12 C overnight. The cold weather alert will remain in place until Christmas Eve, when the region will see a daytime high of -8 C.
According to Environment Canada, precipitation is set to begin Thursday evening as rain or snow before transitioning to rain for many areas later in the night.
Temperatures are set to nosedive on Friday morning, resulting in a potential of a flash freeze, the agency said.
“Rapidly falling temperatures will be accompanied by damaging winds, snow at times heavy, and widespread blowing snow. Total snowfall amounts of 5 to 15 cm is expected before the snow tapers off to flurries Saturday morning,” the advisory said.
“Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve. Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow. If visibility is reduced while driving, slow down, watch for tail lights ahead and be prepared to stop.”
Updated weather information can be found on the Environment Canada website.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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