We are finally expected to see warmer weather after a Winter Weather Advisory was up for the northern part of Alabama and other parts of the Tennessee Valley last week. Made a State of Emergency by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, a combination of freezing rain, sleet and snow caused  difficult and dangerous travel conditions and a need to bundle up. This weather caused school cancellations and delays all over the Tennessee Valley.

For the first part of the 2018 year, a frigid cold phenomenon known as an Arctic Chill or a Bomb Cyclone enveloped much of the United States. As a result, schools and businesses issued delays and cancellations to keep people from being out in the dangerous cold.  Many parents believed that the school systems were ‘coddling’ the kids, claiming that the kids should suck it up and be sent to school regardless of the temperature.

During a bomb cyclone, an area of low pressure develops (which, in this case, did off the coast of Florida), and makes its way north, progressively getting stronger and stronger as it continues upwards. This weather phenomenon brings rain, snow, and strong winds. Winds in a bomb cyclone can meet and exceed 74 miles per hour, strengths that meet the qualifications of a category one hurricane. These strong winds are brought about by a sudden drop in pressure, at least by 24 millibars in 24 hours, where the lower the millibars, the stronger the storm. It’s these conditions that have been the cause of the record breaking arctic weather we have been trying to cope with.

Regarding this, BJ teacher Peggy Dupree stated, “Some kids don’t have a jacket. Some parents go to work early, and they leave while their kids are getting themselves ready. The kids are not going to check the temperature. We are doing this for the kids’ benefit. Parents are saying that we are coddling the kids for keeping them from being out in the cold, but then it’s those same parents who immediately ask for grade changes. You can’t have both.”

John Holland, a bus driver for the Madison City School System, also made about an important point to take into consideration. He said, “You have small children that go out and have to wait outside for their bus to come, and, in temperatures like that; that’s dangerous to them. In those temperatures, people can freeze to death, and you can get frost bitten in very little time.”

However, there are school systems that have forced their children to ‘suck it up.’ Baltimore school systems, despite the fact that they had no heat, refrained from any school cancellations in response to the freezing weather. Their decision raised questions and uproars across the nation as pictures of elementary school children wearing several jackets in freezing cold classrooms went viral. Baltimore schools, in response to the backlash, were eventually closed and a GoFundMe page was created to raise money for the heat installations and or repairs.

At Bob Jones, Robin Lakso’s art class have also had to deal with no heat. Lakso said, “The temperatures were at 44°. You could see your breath.” The freezing temperatures forced the class to relocate to Patriot Hall, which proved to be problematic because of the lack of art supplies.

Courey Bratt, one of Lakso’s students, said, “Walking in here [the art classroom] was just like walking outside. January 8th, for first block, we decided to just come here and work rather than do it in Patriot Hall. We decided to be cold because we needed to get our work done.” 

“It was like an icebox,” Elisa Castaneda commented. Emma Grider, another of Lakso’s students, said, “We had to go to like seven different locations just to get our supplies.”

The heating was repaired later on in the day. Although it is an improvement, the room is still extremely chilly. “It’s a rough way to start a semester,” Lakso concluded. “This is just not right for kids.”

Friday, Jan. 19 is Madison City’s first day back without a delay. Though it is cold outside now, forecasters predict much warmer temperatures for next week.