Wichita, surrounding districts cancel Tuesday classes, as does Wichita State

Wichita State University, the Wichita school district and other districts in the area canceled Tuesday classes, citing a forecast that calls for low temperatures and dangerous wind chills.

“I’m a native Minnesotan, and this is pretty cold for me,” said Andy Kleinsasser, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Wichita.

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“It’s going to be bitter, bitter cold with … the worst expected to occur right during those morning bus-stop hours.”

Officials with the Wichita district announced just before 6 p.m. Monday that they would not have school Tuesday “due to the predicted extremely cold temperatures and wind chills.”

High school athletic practices and competitions will take place as scheduled, officials said. All non-attendance centers will remain open.

Several other area districts canceled school and other activities for Tuesday, including:

▪ Andover

▪ Circle

▪ Derby

▪ El Dorado

▪ Goddard

▪ Maize

▪ McPherson

▪ Valley Center

▪ Wichita Catholic schools

▪ Wichita State University

▪ Wichita Area Technical College

Maize officials canceled school “due to dangerously cold weather and concerns regarding the safety of students,” according to a text sent to Maize families.

“Please stay in and stay warm,” the El Dorado district tweeted.

McPherson schools tweeted that classes were canceled Tuesday and would start two hours late Wednesday.

The National Weather Service in Wichita issued a wind chill advisory through noon Tuesday, citing a band of arctic air that would send temperatures below zero overnight and wind chills to nearly 20 below.

“Even without the wind, that’s pretty cold,” said Kleinsasser, the meteorologist. “But we’re going to have a breeze of 10 to 15 miles per hour, and that’s going to send our wind chill readings well below zero.”

The lowest wind chill readings are expected between 6 and 8 a.m. Tuesday, he said.

Wichita school officials said they weigh several factors before deciding whether to cancel school, including wind chill forecasts and road conditions. The state’s largest district did not cancel school last Thursday despite cold temperatures and sleet during the morning commute.

In 2014, the Wichita district went on with school despite single-digit temperatures and wind chills of 19 below. Some families criticized the decision, saying bus delays meant some students waited 45 minutes or more for their morning bus.

On Monday evening the district telephoned, e-mailed and texted families to inform them of the decision to close.

“Making a decision like this is never easy, but we always base our decision on what is safest for our students, and on the expert opinion of our weather partners,” Superintendent Alicia Thompson said in the statement.

This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Wichita, surrounding districts cancel Tuesday classes, as does Wichita State."