With spring break on its deathbed, many a sad Spartan had begun gathering their things for their impending return to school. Backpacks relocated, spring homework wrapped up, all signs pointed to quarter four starting as expected. An early spring snow storm, however, lurked in the forecast, presenting a possible spring break extension.
Fast forward to today, Mar. 24, 2013, and it is snowing cats and dogs. The general consensus amongst meteorologists is 6-10 inches of the fluffy stuff coming our way, with some predicting upwards of 11 inches by the time this storm packs up and heads east. Senior Sydney Johnson never saw it coming.
“It was starting to feel like spring for a few days, so I thought we were done with snow,” Johnson said.
Indeed it was. The break was kicked off with spring-like temperatures, highlighted by the Mar. 15-16 span where highs reached the low 70’s, according to almanac.com. While most would expect a spring break to start with more wintry weather than it ends with, we have seen that order virtually flipped, concluding with the current snow event. Junior Abby Woods has mixed feelings about the possibility of extra time off.
“[A snow day] works for me,” Woods said. “I just don’t want to make them up.”
Johnson shared similar sentiments, particularly because of her senior status.
“Well, while it’s nice to sleep in and goof off now, nobody is going to like it when we’re adding days on at the end of the year,” Johnson said. “Especially us seniors.”
Another day off, combined with the two cancellations earlier this year, would stretch the school year to May 28, meaning students would have to return to school following Memorial Day weekend for one last day of finals. To seniors, this means one more day blocking them from graduation; for returning students, it means a slightly shrunken summer.
The possibility of an extended spring break, however, is looking likely — if you trust FHC’s resident snow day predictor, science teacher Scott Thorpe, that is. Yesterday, Thorpe gave his preliminary stamp on a day off.
“Snow I snow that everyone wants to snow if there will be school on [Monday],” Thorpe tweeted Saturday night, jokingly. “If the snow comes down like they say it will…there is snow chance.”
Woods, who drives to school each morning, thinks that in the end, a school cancellation due to weather might not be a bad thing. In the case of school being in session during inclimate weather, hundreds of inexperienced drivers would have to brave the conditions.
“I understand because of the safety of everyone,” Woods said. “I think we have had enough days off and I wouldn’t mind going back tomorrow, but it would just make me nervous with all of the students driving.”
While going to school would complicate transportation, staying home complicates participation. Woods and Johnson are like many Spartans in that they are involved in clubs/teams that rely on school being in session to meet — Woods with Track, and Johnson with theater. A snow day would result in docked practice and rehearsal time for both groups. To Woods, that might not be a bad thing.
“We would enjoy the day off,” Woods said.
To Woods, a possible snow day in the onset of spring should not come as much of a shock to students across the Show Me State.
“It’s crazy, but that’s Missouri for you. Mother Nature is so unpredictable,” Woods said.
Johnson blames this on the spring predicting rodent that comes out — or stays in — each February.
“I think that groundhog is a dirty little liar,” Johnson said. “But, hey, welcome to Missouri folks.”
Need any updates on the weather and how it will affect the start of your fourth quarter? Stay tuned to FHCtoday.com!
View FHC Snowfall 03/24/13 in a larger map
