With temperatures expected to possibly reach record lows this week, Billings schools are keeping a close eye on the forecast.
Superintendent Greg Upham says administrators have been in regular contact with the National Weather Service and will decide whether to close by mid-week.
“Hopefully by Wednesday afternoon we will know exactly, but as of right now we plan on being in school,” Upham says.
The actual temperature for Thursday morning in Billings is expected to be 28 below zero with wind chills as low as 46 below.
Related: Q2 Billings Area Weather: A dangerously cold week
“One of the things we have to pay attention to is once it gets to 30 below our buses have difficulty with the diesel fuel. It gels and those kinds of things, so that’s a problem and that is really a determining factor but there’s others—just the overall cold and if there’s windchill factors that go with that—so all the above are concerning,” Upham says.
Billings Schools are already scheduled to begin their winter break on Friday, Dec. 23.
