School closings in Michigan: See which districts have most snow cancellations
- Hundreds of schools canceled because of freezing rain, lousy roads
- Michigan allows districts to cancel six days per year; many are halfway to that threshold
- Morely Stanwood Community Schools, deep in the heart of Michigan’s snow belt, has the most extra school days in the past 10 years
Hundreds of schools were canceled in southeast Michigan on Tuesday, as a nasty mix of freezing rain and snow made the roads a mess. For many districts, particularly in Oakland County, it’s the third snow day in 10 days.
That puts the districts halfway to the six per year that Michigan allows schools to cancel for weather or other emergencies. If districts exceed that amount, they must seek a waiver and permission from the state.
Who has the most waivers?
Morley Stanwood Community Schools in Mecosta County, 50 miles north of Grand Rapids. Since 2012-2013, the district has canceled 15 additional days beyond the six per year allowed by the state.
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The district is in Michigan’s snow belt near Lake Michigan and is impacted by lake effect snow. Roger Cole, superintendent of Morley Stanwood schools, last week told Bridge Michigan that the district also has many farms and gravel roads, making roads impassable during blowing winds.
“I don’t have a fix. I don’t have any control over it,” Cole said.
Unlike many other districts, Morley Stanwood didn’t cancel classes on Tuesday.
Check out which districts have the most snow days in the past 10 years here:
Weather forecast:
The National Weather Service has issued advisory for much of Michigan today, with up to 3 inches of snow and freezing rain predicted in southeast Michigan.
The agency also issued a hazardous weather outlook for northern Michigan on Tuesday and Wednesday, with “patchy freezing drizzle” and “minor accumulations of west snow” making travel precarious.
The agency also warns that some flooding could be possible in the next few days because of rain and ice jams near rivers.
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