Schools, road crews prepare for possible ‘snow day’

JACKSON, Tenn. — Road crews and school officials were preparing Thursday night as forecasters say the area could see its first snow of the year, overnight into Friday.

Some West Tennesseans said they were skeptical, while others said snow in the area is a possibility.

“It’s possible because it’s really cold outside, and I would like to get off of school,” Nyla Miles said. “It would be a good opportunity.”

Nichole Lawrence with the Tennessee Department of Transportation said they have been pre-treating roadways since Wednesday.

“We have been preparing to get ready for the winter event and what we do is we go out and pre-treat these roads,” she said. “The roads are dry, the conditions are perfect to treat with our salt brine.”

TDOT  has 171 of salt trucks that serves the West Tennessee region.

But even with salt on the roads, TDOT said people are safer staying off the streets in inclement weather.

“Leave early if you have to, but if you don’t have to go anywhere just stay home,” Lawrence said. “It’s Friday, take a long weekend and play it safe.”

Ginger Carver with Jackson-Madison County Schools said the school system will make a decision on whether to cancel classes no later than 5 a.m., Friday morning.

“We don’t want to call too far in advance, but we want to give parents as much time as we can because buses start rolling pretty early in the morning,” Carver said.

Carver said the safety of the school community is the biggest factor when deciding whether to close.

“We just want to make sure everything is safe, and we will stay tuned to local media and put that information out as soon as we can in the morning,” she said.

For the latest school closings, stay with WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News on air and www.wbbjtv.com.