Hint of snowstorm closes area schools

Snowfall that stopped almost as soon as it began prompted several North Georgia school systems to close early Monday afternoon.

School systems in Catoosa, Dade, Walker, Whitfield and Murray counties shut down between noon and 1 p.m. Monday, along with Chickamauga and Dalton city schools.

"We saw some snow flurries across Northwest Georgia this morning," said Laura Griffith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Ga. "There was a brief period of a light dusting. Nothing more than snow flurries had accumulated -- we're not talking road closings or anything."

Officials in most of those school systems said they would decide overnight whether to cancel today's classes. According to Dade County Superintendent Patty Priest, her schools will reopen today unless any major weather system moves in overnight.

After she saw snow flurries Monday morning, Ms. Priest said the decision became collaborative with Catoosa and Walker counties. But the weather took another interesting turn.

"When we called school and got our buses out, the sun was shining. It's a no-win situation for superintendents," she said.

Officials said they felt the need to be decisive after previous episodes with ambiguous weather forecasts.

"I guess you can always be caught off guard by the weather, but our highest priority is student safety," said Marissa Brower, spokeswoman for Catoosa County Schools. "The last time it snowed, we went on what the local weather forecasts had as 'coming later.' So while we got all of our students home safely in a timely manner, some other roads became impassable before our buses finished."

To avoid a similar situation Monday, school system officials immediately made the decision to close early after warnings from the National Weather Service and the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office, she said.

Eric Beavers, spokesman for Whitfield County Schools, said the system released students early based on advisories from the National Weather Service.

Mr. Beavers said Monday's flurries were not reported in earlier forecasts.

"It sounds like a similar situation to what we saw (Friday, Jan. 29). The weather is changing rapidly," he said.

That day, forecasts reported that accumulation wouldn't begin until about 5 p.m., but "in reality we started seeing accumulation around 1:30 p.m.," Mr. Beavers said.

Schools didn't dismiss then until snow and ice made for slippery roadways, he said.