- Video shows a forecaster from the National Weather Service explain how vital information about the weather gets distributed to local partners such as school superintendents.
- School districts from across northeast Wisconsin share some of what they consider to be the most important factors when deciding to close school because of inclement weather.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Rebecca Kruk is one of several forecasters at the National Weather Service's Green Bay Office.
Part of her job? To gather data about incoming weather and put it together for the service's partners such as county emergency managers and notably, school superintendents.
"The way that we contact them is through various emails that we send them notifying them of different information as heads-up information," says Kruk.
"From that information that we include in those emails, they take that information, they actually make their decisions on their own."
The National Weather Service provides the forecast. The rest is up to each school district.
"All the superintendents are the ones that get these emails with the different slides in them," says Kruk.
"From there it's up to them if they would like to pass it on to the schools themselves. The principals can make the decision if they want to pass that on to the teachers."
Each school district weighs similar factors when deciding to close school.
NBC 26 spoke with Kaukauna Superintendent Mike Slowinski via email. He said Tuesday's decision to cancel classes was not just about the extreme cold temperatures, but the duration of the wind chills in the area.
Meanwhile, the Appleton Area School District says they will close schools if an extreme cold warning lasts within an hour before the school day begins, which is what happened on Tuesday.
The Howard-Suamico School District says their decision is based not only on the National Weather Service but from a variety of informed sources, including Lamers Bus Company and the school's Building and Grounds department.
Anyone can access the same information made available to the schools. You can find them on social media accounts run by the National Weather Service's Green Bay office.
