Despite the lack of snow, freezing temperatures kept students inside their homes Friday, January 6th  during a snow day.

Governor Robert Bentley called a state of emergency Thursday night as windchills across the state were projected to drop below freezing for the next day. Madison City Schools was one of the last school systems in North Alabama to announce it was closing Friday.

Multiple crashes occurred Friday night as bridges from Ardmore to Tuscaloosa iced over. Across the state, temperatures stayed in the teens all day Friday and struggled to get above freezing Saturday and Sunday morning. The National Weather Service issued a Hard Freeze Warning, and I-20 was shut down for most of the day Saturday. Several large wrecks shut down I-20, I-65, and I-495 Sunday. The BJCC Boyz II Men concert was cancelled.

While the snow missed Madison and Huntsville, around three inches fell on Birmingham over the weekend.

In light of this bad weather, several extracurricular activities were cancelled the weekend, including Scholar’s Bowl, Young Ambassadors, the basketball team, and the wrestling team.

Mrs. Clough, sponsor for the Scholar’s Bowl team, had a NAQT qualifying tournament lined up for the team Saturday. The entire team was disappointed to not go.

“Mrs. Lambert sent an email saying school was cancelled and all weekend events as well.  I did email her back to see if we could wait until Friday to make a decision on a Saturday event.  She was very polite but asked that I cancel due to expected snow and freezing temps.”said Mrs. Clough.

The tournament has yet to be rescheduled.

Assistant Principal Mrs. Thaxton was reached for comment, and she said that this was a superintendent decision and that Bob Jones staff was happy to comply and keep students safe.

School here resumed as normal, but other schools to the south were closed Monday in the wake of the cold weather. Roads in Birmingham were still coated with ice and snow, prompting 15 schools to stay closed for one more day.