MORGANTOWN – Don’t worry about it, Fern.
As in the last day of school in Monongalia County this term, Eddie Campbell Jr. said Thursday.
“Fern” is the name of the winter storm that slammed the region with snow last weekend while bearing down with an ice grip of Arctic cold ever since.
Single-digit temperatures and wind chills lower than that prompted Campbell, the superintendent of schools for the county, to keep students home for another day.
Thursday was a remote-learning “Arctic Academy” day for the district.
It’s not the snow, Campbell said. It’s the mercury.
“We can get our buses on the road,” the superintendent said, “but we can’t subject our kids to those kinds of temperatures. It’s not safe.”
To date, the county has used six snow days, which is one over the state allotment, he said.
As of Thursday morning, the district had two Arctic Academy remaining for its use. The last day of school this term for Mon is May 28 and it’s going to stay that date, Campbell said.
For now, at least.
“We looking at the calendar,” he said. “We have some days we can reconfigure for makeups.”
The Arctic chill from Fern’s calling card, though, isn’t showing signs of a makeover.
AccuWeather says to look for a high of 18 on Friday, with the temperature dropping to 1 below after sunset.
Saturday’s high is projected at 15 followed by Sunday’s call for 20, signaling a slight warming trend for the coming week, the forecaster said.
Meanwhile, AccuWeather said, that Nor’easter currently brewing over the Atlantic isn’t expected to bring significant snow to north-central West Virginia when it hits land this weekend.
