On President’s Day, Monday, February 15, a massive ice storm hit the Fairfax County area. There were massive amounts of sleet and freezing rain, and the temperature was dropping throughout the day. It was obvious it was unsafe to drive. However, the operating status of schools the following day was still in question. The weather reports claimed the temperature would rise overnight throughout the following day, however none of the reported temperatures on the hourly forecast would reach above freezing before 9am. Even with a two-hour delay, it would still be difficult for students to get to school safely.

At 7pm on Monday, the FCPS school board had decided to have a two-hour delay on Tuesday. However, school-board-superstar Ryan McElveen made a massive mistake. McElveen, who is in charge of tweeting about delays and cancellations, tweeted that schools would be closed on Tuesday the 16th. Seconds later, he changed the status of school closings and tweeted that there would be a two-hour delay instead.  Despite the confusion, FCPS later decided to close schools for the day, at 5am the next morning.

Although FCPS students were thrilled about the fact there was no school, there was still much frustration. Going to bed with the mindset of a set wake-up time, only to have it changed again causes difficulty and irritable sleep patterns. Many students who wake up only to find out there is no school, go back to bed after already waking up. This is an unhealthy sleep habit, especially for teenagers. It would be a better rule to have FCPS call snow days by midnight, so that students can go to bed ready for school, and knowing what lies ahead for them the following day.