FARGO — Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo public schools were closed on Friday, Jan. 14, due to predictions of possible heavy snow accumulations, though the area ended up receiving less snow than anticipated.
The closing announcements were made late Thursday night, when forecasts expected perhaps 5 to 10 inches of snow in the Fargo-Moorhead area.
However, as of 9:30 a.m. Friday, the Fargo area had received about 2 inches of snow and only another 1 or 2 inches was expected to fall during the rest of the day, according to Austin Perroux, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks.
Although parts of Wells County in North Dakota received as much as 8 inches of snow overnight, much of the region escaped significant snowfall due to an influx of cold, dry air that kept large amounts of snow from reaching the ground, Perroux said.
Perroux added that due to blowing snow Friday morning, visibility was reduced on some roads in the region, particularly the area around Breckenridge, Minnesota, where visibility was down to a quarter of a mile to half a mile at times.
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Based on Thursday forecasts, all Fargo classes and extracurricular activities were canceled Friday, including the early childhood special education preschool program and the adult learning center.
The school district will use the May 16 storm day built into the schedule to make up for Friday's closure. Thus, all students and staff will be in school on that Monday, May 16.
All Moorhead public school students, from early education to seniors, will have a remote learning day. All before-school, after-school and evening activities are canceled.
West Fargo will also have a remote learning day on Friday for all students. Students will remain at home and join their classes virtually, the district said on its Facebook page.
Activities have also been canceled in West Fargo, including practices. The Hulbert Aquatic Center and the West Fargo Sports Arena will be open to outside rental clients only.
There is no rapid COVID-19 testing at any school district site either.
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton public schools are also having a remote learning day.
YMCA programming at the early childhood center will remain open, but other before-school and after-school activities are canceled. The Boys & Girls Clubs before-school and after-school programs are also closed Friday.
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YMCA programming at the early childhood center will remain open, but other before-school and after-school activities are canceled.
Minnesota transportation officials have placed a winter weather warning on much of western Minnesota, stretching from the Moorhead area south to the Iowa border. For up-to-date road conditions in Minnesota, go to https://511mn.org/
For road conditions in North Dakota, visit https://travel.dot.nd.gov/
