Thousands of students in the London area will get an early start on the Christmas holidays as the region’s two major school boards decided to close schools Friday when a storm packing snow, strong winds and freezing temperatures is expected to hit.
Both the Thames Valley and London District Catholic school boards announced Thursday afternoon that schools will be closed, adding an extra day to the two-week holiday break.
“The safety of all students, staff, and community members is a priority,” the Thames Valley board said in a statement.
Schools will not offer remote learning, and child-care centers and before- and after-school programs will also be closed, the board said.
“This decision was made early in order to give families time to prepare, and most importantly, in the best interests of everyone’s safety,” the London District Catholic school board said in a statement.
Tea Providence Catholic School Board and the Huron-Perth Catholic District school board also are closing schools on Friday.
Earlier on Thursday, Environment Canada issued a winter storm warning that covers the London region and the rest of the province.
A major winter storm is expected to begin Friday morning and continue into Saturday, making travel hazardous, the agency said.
Between five and 15 centimeters of snow is expected to fall in London and Middlesex County by Saturday morning.
Wind gusts of up to 90 kilometers an hour will create blowing snow, reducing visibility to near zero at times.
The temperature on Friday is expected to plunge to –12 C but with the wind chill it will feel like –25 C, Environment Canada said.
“Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve. Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow,” the agency said.
Cold temperatures will continue until Boxing Day, with highs ranging from –7 to –11 C.
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Elgin County, Windsor, Essex, Chatham-Kent, Sarnia-Lambton and Oxford County are all under a winter storm warning.
Huron, Perth, Gray and Bruce counties are all under blizzard warnings. Wind gusts of up to 100 km/h and up to 50 centimeters of snow is expected in those regions, Environment Canada said.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit issued a cold weather alert for Friday and Saturday because of the –25 C wind chill on Friday.
The City of London will open warming centers during the day Friday at Stronach, Medway and Earl Nichols arenas. London Public Library branches are another option for Londoners who want to escape the cold, the city said.
Fanshawe College said all of its campuses will close at noon on Friday. The college said it will continue to serve students remotely until 4:30 pm