The archdiocese’s Office of Catholic Schools asks families to check with their Catholic schools for information about weather-related closures for Monday, Jan. 6. The archdiocese’s central offices will be closed.
Gov. Mark Dayton on Jan. 3 canceled Monday classes at all Minnesota K-12 public schools because of the projected subzero temperatures statewide. The closures mean that all district transportation and other services will be canceled for non-public schools as well.
“The safety of Minnesota’s schoolchildren must be our first priority,” Dayton said in a news release. “I have made this decision to protect all our children from the dangerously cold temperatures now forecasted for next Monday. I encourage Minnesotans of all ages to exercise caution in these extreme weather conditions.”
The National Weather Service predicts that most of the state will experience the coldest temperatures in a decade on Jan. 6 with lows reaching -30 degrees and wind chills predicted to reach as low as -50 degrees, according to the governor’s office. High temperatures from International Falls to Rochester are forecasted to be only -15 degrees.
Canceling school statewide is an unusual occurrence. Gov. Arne Carlson canceled school three times: on Jan. 18, 1994; Feb. 2, 1996 and Jan. 16, 1997.
