Good evening everyone! We have several prediction updates to go over with notable adjustments: the FINAL Prediction for Tuesday, the Second Prediction for Wednesday, and the First Prediction for Thursday.
The area is still recovering from the heavy winter storm yesterday. About 12 to 20 inches of snowfall has occurred throughout the area. Locations north of I-80 in particular, especially the back roads, have reports of inadequately plowed surface and slush beginning to freeze over. Primary roads are being observed as just wet in general. The National Weather Service has issued a Cold Weather Advisory for tonight into tomorrow, calling for -15°F wind chill factor. This alone is very likely to cause delays at a minimum.
Taking into account all road reports (thanks everyone for your submissions) and just the sheer amount of snow some areas received, I do agree that closings or virtual days are perhaps more likely than not. That said, I would not be surprised if we see mixed reactions within the county – such as Pocono Mountain and East Stroudsburg going virtual or closing, while Pleasant Valley and Stroudsburg go in on time… hard to say for sure. Each district’s reaction is going to heavily depend on road conditions, teacher availability, and the status of building preparation. Regardless, in my opinion, I think school reactions of at least a delay are very much likely.
For the rest of the week, each morning has the potential to trigger Cold Weather Advisories – and possibly Extreme Cold Warnings by Friday morning. I am going to be posting constant prediction updates throughout the week. The question that gets introduced is do schools get “used to” the Cold Weather Advisories and start going in on time, but I doubt that is the case. To emphasize, the predictions starting after Tuesday are going to be heavily dependent on if a cold advisory is issued and what type: advisory or warning.
To top it off, there are signs pointing to perhaps another winter storm this upcoming weekend – it’s still very early for details and I do not think the Poconos will be near the heart of this potential storm, but then again things can change. Regardless, be on the lookout for school alerts, stay warm, and be safe. Thank you all for the support!
