Two Centre County School Districts to Operate on 2-Hour Delay Thursday and Friday

Students in two Centre County school districts will have delayed starts for the remainder of the week as extreme cold temperatures persist throughout the area.

State College and Philipsburg-Osceola school districts announced on Wednesday that they will have two-hour delays Thursday and Friday because of the cold weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service and frigid temperatures expected both mornings.

A cold weather advisory will be in effect in Centre County for the third consecutive day from 1 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thursday. Overnight and early morning low temperatures are forecasted to be around zero with windchills of -10 to -15 degrees.

Thursday night into Friday morning is expected to be even colder, with lows dipping to -5 degrees and wind chill values as low as -15.

“The cold wind chills could result in hypothermia or frostbite if precautions are not taken,” the NWS at State College wrote in the advisory.

SCASD and Philipsburg-Osceola Area both had delays on Wednesday because of very cold temperatures. All Centre County districts were closed on Monday and had delays on Tuesday following the weekend winter storm that dumped about a foot of snow across the region.

Philipsburg-Osceola wrote that the delays the rest of the week “will allow for safer conditions for students waiting at bus stops.”

State College Superintendent Curtis Johnson wrote in a message to families that “a great deal of planning” and a variety of factors go into making decisions about delays or cancellations, adding that this week has been particularly challenging because of extreme cold combined with drifting snow.

“Our number one priority is always the safety of our students,” he wrote. “For severe cold, we especially consider our youngest and most vulnerable students, many of whom are only five years old. These students and others have to walk to school or stand outside waiting for buses.”

The district has eight elementary schools, and district-wide approximately 600 students walk to school, Johnson said.

The various considerations used in making delay and closure decisions, Johnson said, include:

• Temperature
• Wind chill
• Square mileage of the district and varying weather conditions
• Walking students
• Elementary/younger students
• Timing of notification and disruption to working families
• School bus viability with gelling fuel
• Being in daylight increases safety for walkers
• Lost learning time and whether it will be made up
• Capacity for crews to salt and clear ground and parking lots

“As always, we will continually evaluate these protocols to see if there are areas for improvement,” Johnson wrote. “Thank you for your patience and understanding as we strive to keep our community safe in severe weather conditions.”