Austin, Hayfield schools delayed two hours Tuesday; area schools closed
Published 11:06 am Monday, January 6, 2014
Austin Public Schools will start classes two hours late Tuesday, the district announced at 11 a.m. Monday.
Hayfield Community Schools will also start two hours late Tuesday. Southland, Grand Meadow, Lyle and LeRoy-Ostrander Public Schools are closed Tuesday.
Minnesota school districts are making their own calls about whether to resume classes Tuesday or keep buildings closed another day.
Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius informed local school leaders Monday that Gov. Mark Dayton won’t call off classes statewide for a second day amid dangerously cold conditions. Public schools were closed Monday at the governor’s direction.
In a letter to districts, the education commissioner said superintendents should be mindful about health hazards from exposures to the below-zero temperatures as they make decisions. Some of the state’s largest districts — Anoka-Hennepin, Minneapolis and St. Paul — announced schools would remain closed. Another big district, Rochester, said it would open two hours late.
Monday was the first blanket closure of all public schools in 17 years.
Monday’s high in Austin reached -13, with a low of about -24 early in the morning, but wind chills reached as low as -52, according to the National Weather Service. A wind chill warning is still in effect until noon Tuesday. The weather service is calling for a high of 1 Tuesday and a low of -12, with wind chills of -37. The wind is supposed to subside in the afternoon, and there’s a chance of flurries between noon and 4 p.m.
Wednesday will warm up — a little — with a high of 4 and a low of -9. Thursday will finally reach the teens and highs in the low 30s are expected Friday and this weekend.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.