What does it take for mountain schools to close during severe weather?

DENVER (KDVR) — Inclement weather can mean many different things to different people.

For city dwellers, it can refer to a couple of inches of snow and slippery roads but for those who live in mountain towns, that's just a run-of-the-mill day.

How much snow fell during Denver's first measurable storm

It would seem that school closures in metropolitan areas are more frequent which is probably justified, but it begs the question, what does it take for the schools in mountain towns to close?

The human condition

Plenty of cold temperatures can be avoided by dressing the part and bundling up in as many layers as possible.

However, there are some instances where no amount of clothing or perseverance can keep a person warm. These are the temperatures where throwing water in the air will result in it freezing before it hits the ground.

Is there even a school to get to?

One of the most important parts of school is well, the physical building itself. Winter conditions can not only cause damage to people but also take a toll on buildings and structures.

If the freeze has caused burst pipes and the school has turned flooded mess, turned partial hockey rink, it is within reason to believe that students are not fit to be in that building. Heavy snow can cause collapses in the roof and any other structural damage like a power outage can lead to a closed school.

The great escape

Much like with temperatures, there is simply a point where too much becomes too much. This is also the case with snow. Eight-foot walls of snow padlocking your front door will do the trick.

If you have to try and take a torch to melt your way out, are doing your best impression of a dog bobbing in and out of a field or are launching off snow ramps in your car like you're in the General Lee with the Duke Boys, there is yet again a point where we are at the mercy of Mother Nature herself.

The long and winding road

People who live in constant wintery conditions have well-equipped themselves with a variety of tools to help them traverse through the elements. There are survival experts who can genuinely travel through any type of situation but that is not the only group of people who make up the demographic of a school.

There are still those who require bus services or travel on foot to get to class. If road conditions are too severe for the bus fleet to dispatch or a walking student might freeze, it may be a factor considered when approaching school closures.

Every situation is different

People who live in the mountains understand the conditions of living in the mountains and school staff need an open dialogue with students' parents or guardians on what the travel situation looks like.

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With the education of thousands of children on the line, having to deal with the schedules of hundreds of employees and a specific oversight on how to allocate resources effectively, school districts will generally try their best to keep a school open.

There are going to be situations where that is not possible. There are no set guidelines on what causes a school closure besides the deliberation between school officials and other professionals. At the end of the day, it is a judgment call by the district.

Mountain school closures are determined with different variables than those in a city. All schools, with the busy lives of parents and caretakers, will already be planning and observing weather conditions at the notice that severe weather will be taking place.