Remote Learning Gives Somerville Snow Day Edge

Somerville MA

15 December, 2020

10:21 AM

Description

SOMERVILLE, MA — A midweek storm is expected to bring the first serious snowfall of the year, but the prospect of a snow day has dimmed in a year when districts have adapted to the pandemic. Somerville is still fully remote, so this week's snowfall will not impact the regular school schedule. Once the district movies to hybrid learning, it plans to transition to remote instruction on days when school would typically be canceled due to snow. A spokesperson for the Somerville Public Schools said this plan will "eliminate the need to extend the school year due to snow days." The storm is expected to hit the region Wednesday night and continue through midday Thursday, dumping as much as 8 to 12 inches on parts of the region. The National Weather Service said the amount of snow depends on how the storm tracks and interacts with an area of high pressure that will keep temperatures in the low 30s from Tuesday onward. Under its current trajectory, the hardest-hit areas would cover an area from the Massachusetts Turnpike to the Upper Cape, with northern Massachusetts and the Outer Cape seeing lower snowfall totals. The storm could also bring heavy wind and cause minor coastal flooding problems around 1 p.m. Thursday, when high tide hits Boston.