Cold sweeps in

Archive for Thursday, January 6, 2005

January 6, 2005

Bitter cold replaced snowy and icy weather today in Lansing.

Temperatures as low as 3 degrees were reported overnight in the area, with the high reaching just 10 degrees by 11:45 a.m. The National Weather Service is forecasting today's high temperature to be a chilly 20 degrees with westerly winds at 5 to 15 mph.

The end of the week should see temperatures warming, with a high around 30 predicted. Saturday and Sunday should be warmer still, with highs in the 40s.

That's good news for streets but bad news for schoolchildren enjoying a two-day break because of the weather.

Randal Bagby, Lansing schools superintendent, said he hadn't heard from any parents about why school was cancelled for the second day in a row despite the improved conditions today.

Cancelling school today, he said, was a difficult call, "but I didn't want to be the only district around that didn't call off school."

Students aren't in danger of seeing their school year extended because of the snow days, Bagby said - at least not yet.

He said the district has called off 2Â½ days of classes so far this academic year, or the equivalent of 20 hours of school. State law requires students to attend a minimum of 1,116 hours of school annually. Even with the snow days, Lansing students are well above the state mandate, Bagby said.