On Monday, March 4. the windchill was reported at around negative 28 degrees. At this temperature, standing outside can be dangerous. When the temperature drops below 13 degrees, frostbite is more likely to appear and kids should stay inside. Due to the windchill at 6 a.m., there was a good chance that school could’ve been cancelled.

“The superintendent’s office makes the decision,” Principal Jay Opperman said. “My estimation was that the forecast was at that range where the superintendents start to think about the weather affecting the students who might be waiting for their bus stop, but I don’t think it was to the point where it was just automatic.”

Although the weather was cold, the temperatures were not extreme enough to cancel school. The temperature was not the only factor that determined the cold day.  Westside has had five days cancelled due to the weather so far in 2019. Freshman Jack Smith said he thought the chances of another cold day were lower due to the past snow and cold days.

“I think due to the amount of snow days they couldn’t cancel it due to the temperature fluctuations and uncertainty with the forecast,” Smith said.

If school was called off yesterday it would have been the fourth week without school on Monday. However, the amount of snow days and the low temperature range left us with no cancellation.