On January 5, the first snowstorm of winter began. It left the ground covered in seven inches of snow and an inch of ice. The snow and ice made it incredibly hard for people to leave their houses. Schools in surrounding counties were called off for a number of days. Students in Fayette County had been out of school since December 23rd for winter break, and their break was extended for an additional eight days. FCPS had traditional snow days from January 8th through the 10th. Students began NTI on January 13th through 16th. FCPS finally returned to school on the 16th.

Parents had become frustrated with the school system for the amount of days students were at home. Parents with jobs that require them to be present in the office had to find childcare for younger children. Since the roads are slick with ice, finding a babysitter was even harder.

The ice also makes transportation to school or work difficult. Driving a car in the snow and ice is already a daunting task, but driving a bus is much harder. The neighborhoods were the most slick, and that is where the buses drive the most. The snow plows usually don’t drive in the neighborhoods because they prioritize the main roads. Last Tuesday, the buses tried their routes to see if the roads were clear enough for the kids to return to school, and two of the buses got stuck in the neighborhoods.

The cold temperatures could also have an effect on your home. Overnight, the cold temperatures outside make the outside of your house cold, but also the inside. The cold temperatures could freeze the water pipes that distribute water all throughout your house. Having your pipes frozen could lead to them cracking and potentially having to be replaced. This could be very costly. To prevent that from happening, people across the city leave their faucets dripping overnight, so the water continues to run through the pipes.