Some Michigan Schools Were Closed All Week – Has That Ever Happened Before?
The final week of January 2019 in Michigan was one for the record books. It started with a heavy snowstorm from Sunday evening into most of Monday. It then transitioned into a Lake Effect snow event Tuesday, then the polar vortex brought the coldest temperatures and wind chills in decades for Tuesday night through early Friday morning. In fact, temperatures barely made it above 0 for almost 48 hours straight and at nearly -20 degrees, several areas broke longstanding record lows.
Due to all of those facts, and that the winter blast literally started just before the beginning of a work week, some Michigan schools cancelling classes Monday through Friday. And that got us wondering... has this ever happened before?
The "Blizzard Of '78" is the gold standard for worst winter weather ever for many in Michigan. But that great storm arrived on a Thursday (and coincidentally the same date of January 26th as this year's event). And schools didn't close for weather as often as they do now. But this one wreaked enough havoc to shut everything down for days as several feet of snow fell. Schools were closed Thursday, Friday, and the following Monday and Tuesday at least. There are reports that some schools closed for that entire following week during the aftermath, but there's no official record of how many or which ones.
Since there is no almanac we are aware of that keeps track of school closings in history, it is really just a guessing game.
So we will leave it to you. Do you remember an entire week of school being closed Monday through Friday? Let us know in the Facebook comments under this story link.