What was already a long, two-week winter break was extended to nearly three weeks by the first four snow days of the year. Anywhere from 6-12 inches fell across the DMV Sunday night and throughout Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday being off were largely due to low temperatures, drifting snow, and refreezing.
The first snowfall of the school year took place on November 22, but no measurable snow day came of it. Other small storms fell throughout December, but nothing substantial enough to warrant a closure.
While this most recent storm only resulted in four days off, it is still among the leaders for the most snow days. In the last 50 years, LCPS has only been off for five or more days four times. Five consecutive snow days occurred in 1987 and 1996. Six snow days, the most consecutive days in the last 50 years, occurred in 2010 and 2016.
LCPS wasn’t alone in having four straight days off. Fairfax and Prince William county also had four days off, and Fauquier County schools were off for the entire week.
Most students and teachers didn’t mind the extra days off. Librarian Patricia Bagdasarian anticipated having Monday and Tuesday off, but was surprised that Thursday and Friday were called off. “It was a total bonus,” Bagdasarian said.
Students mostly spent their time indoors. “I stayed home and played video games,” junior Jake Adderton said
Others stayed inside because they had to. “I couldn’t really do anything because I was sick,” senior Emmanuel Mibiru said.
Having four consecutive snow days already matches the total number of snow days from all of last year, and there are still almost two months of cold weather ahead, which could potentially allow for more snow days in the future.
