An extreme cold snap for Sylvan Lake is coming to an end. Friday morning, Chinook’s Edge School Division and Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools once again had its school busses up and running.
For three days, school busses in Sylvan Lake were cancelled due to the extreme cold, which reached close to -50C.
On Jan. 17, the temperature was a relatively balmy -28, though the windchill still sits at -40C.
Chinook’s Edge described the past few days as a “yellow inclement weather” day. This meant the school busses were not running but the schools remained opened and classes were held.
“On Yellow days, we anticipate that the majority of staff members will be able to drive to their schools and that meaningful learning will take place,” the Chinook’s Edge website states.
Temperatures that fall below -35C ambient or -40C with windchill will cause and yellow inclement weather day as well as reduced visibility and road or climatic conditions, according to the school board’s website.
School closures are only done in cases of very extreme weather. Chinook’s Edge says schools will only be closed in specific cases, such as a “full-blown blizzard.”
“These are days when we are faced with extremely cold temperatures (ambient temperature for a significant part of the day is lower than - 40 degrees Celsius, or the temperature with wind chill is lower than - 50 degrees Celsius)… or when we have a combination of heavy snow, high winds, and very low visibility.”
An extreme cold warning is still in place for the area, as it has since Jan. 12. However, the warning is expected to end some time on Friday.