Snow Day (Bus Cancellation) Outlook for Friday, February 18, 2022
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A snowstorm is currently ongoing across Southern Ontario and is expected to bring widespread snowfall accumulation of between 15-25cm by Friday morning. This will likely result in a big impact on the morning commute with widespread school bus cancellations or school closures expected.
Based on the timing of this event, the higher chance of a ‘snow day’ will be through Eastern Ontario as the snow will still be falling around 6 am which is when the decision to cancel school buses is made. It’s hard for us to see how any school buses will be able to safely operate in this region on Friday so there is a 90% chance of a snow day.
Further west, it will really come down to how fast road crews are able to clear up the snowfall accumulation from overnight. Blowing snow will also be a concern during the morning which would also factor into the decision. The more rural school boards outside of the GTA have a 75% chance as they are fairly likely to see bus cancellations, but it’s not guaranteed like in Eastern Ontario.
While conditions will be similar, we’ve given the GTA a 50% chance as these school boards tend to have a higher threshold for cancellations due to being less reliant on bussing. And Southwestern Ontario will see the snow come to an end several hours earlier so we aren’t as confident that road conditions will still be bad enough to prompt cancellations. As such, they also have a 50/50 chance of seeing cancellations on Friday.
NOTE: We are aware that some school boards have a PA Day on Friday. Based on feedback, we have decided to create our forecast without considering any PA days as not every school board even in the same region follows the same schedule. This ensures that no one is left out of our forecast. If you have a PA Day tomorrow, consider it a guaranteed snow day and enjoy the weather!
If there are any cancellations tomorrow morning, you can be sure we’ll be up bright and early beginning at 6 AM with our bus cancellations live blog to keep you updated.
Disclaimer: Instant Weather has zero authority when it comes to bus and school closures. It is completely up to the school boards, bus companies, and local authorities as well as being up to parents to decide what is best for their children. This is simply our best guess based on our forecast. Also note that due to the current pandemic, some school boards have changed their policies on school bus cancellations. Some will continue the school day in a virtual format should there be school bus cancellations - check with your local board for more details.
