LI, NYC schools announce closings because of Thursday’s storm
Karina Blackstone teaches seventh-graders about bombogenesis in her earth science class at Malverne's Howard T. Herber Middle School on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Most public and private schools across Long Island and the New York City schools, the nation’s largest public system, will be closed Thursday because of the winter storm predicted to bring heavy snowfall and howling winds.
Universities and colleges across the Island — including Stony Brook, Hofstra, Adelphi, Nassau Community College and all campuses of Suffolk County Community College — canceled classes for the day or will be closed.
The announcements began at midafternoon Wednesday, growing to a crescendo by early evening. The city’s Department of Education tweeted its news affecting 1.1 million students across the five boroughs at 7 p.m.
On the Island, where more than 442,000 students are enrolled in 124 public districts, the Uniondale, Bay Shore, Rockville Centre and Center Moriches systems were among the first to announce closures on their websites. Private and parochial schools, large and small, soon joined the list.
For a current listing, check Newsday’s website.
Generally, administrators in districts that are clustered in geographic zones discuss their plans in afternoon and evening conference calls before a storm. Some school systems posted alerts Wednesday, urging parents to monitor school websites.
The National Weather Service predicted Suffolk County would get the strongest hit on the Island, with snow accumulations of 8 to 12 inches. About 5 to 8 inches are expected in Nassau County, with higher amounts possible.
In some science classrooms Wednesday, the words “bomb cyclone” and “bombogenesis” were front and center. The terms refer to the storm, which forecasters have said will feature rapidly falling air pressure that leads to thicker snowfall, high winds and plummeting temperatures.
In Nick Donohue’s earth science and meteorology classes at Massapequa High School’s Ames campus, ninth-graders observed weather forecasting maps that, over time, showed the storm and its internal pressure’s evolutions. Students reacted with surprise to the visual effect of the isobars growing closer together on the map.
“This is just almost unprecedented storm development, it’s so rapid,” Donohue said in an interview. “To have it in 24 hours go from nothing to this monster Atlantic storm is impressive.”
Karina Blackstone, who teaches earth science to advanced seventh-graders at Howard T. Herber Middle School in Malverne, took the opportunity to talk about subjects in the district’s meteorology unit, usually not covered until March.
Earlier in the school year, she used hurricanes that had devastated Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico in August and September and the September earthquake in Mexico to demonstrate key concepts.
“I think it’s so important that when we are experiencing phenomena . . . to bring it into the classroom,” Blackstone said.
Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.
