Schools closed for some southern Alberta students due to extreme cold

Due to severe weather conditions on Friday, all schools within the Rocky View Schools Division (RVS) outside the city of Calgary are closed to in-person classes.

The board made the decision at 5:15 a.m. as temperatures hit a low of -36 C to -40 C in the outlying regions.

Wind chills in many of those areas are in the -40 to -47 range, which is a very high risk. Under those conditions, exposed skin can freeze within five to 10 minutes.

Buses are also cancelled for those students, but any online classes scheduled for Friday will go ahead as planned.

RVS also said all high schools in the district that are designated as locations for diploma exams will be open, but there will be no bus service available for those schools.

SCHOOL'S ON FOR MOST CALGARY STUDENTS

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and most Calgary Catholic School Division (CCSD) students will be bundling up for in-person classes on Friday.

Buses are expected to be running on their regular schedules.

According to an update from CCSD at 6:30 a.m., classes have been cancelled for all students who attend school in Airdrie, Chestermere and Cochrane.

Bus service for those students is also cancelled.

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The CBE and CCSD remind parents to ensure their children are dressed for the weather and prepare for any potential delays.

COLDER OUTSIDE CALGARY?

While RVS has not said anything specific about its decision to cancel classes, weather statistics show the surrounding communities are not dramatically colder than Calgary.

CTV Calgary weather specialist Jodi Hughes does point to a few differences that may have led the call being made.

"In low-lying communities or communities unprotected from wind (by large buildings) the cold can have a greater impact," she said.

"Plus, major centres will create a 'heat island effect' – where the temperature will be slightly warmer than outlying communities with vegetation and/or bodies of water."

Hughes says materials like concrete and asphalt also collect more heat, so the temperatures can be higher in city zones there there is a lot more infrastructure.

"The N/S/E/W communities are close to or the same as Airdrie and Cochrane, there is a one to four degree difference in both temps and wind chills. Calgary and most of the surrounding commuities are all hovering around the same risk level for frostbite (very high to severe)."