By Andy Dunn
Staff Writer

The first snow day of the year came on the first scheduled day back from Winter Break to the joy of Westford students everywhere.

Superintendent Bill Olsen called the day off at 8:12 PM on Wednesday for all Thursday activities. Olsen beat Chelmsford and Littleton to be the first to call off the day by a matter of minutes. Chelmsford cancelled four minutes after Westford and Littleton cancelled 45 minutes later.

Closings were indisputably justified and necessary for the day, as most of New England braces itself for a strong winter storm to go through the next couple of days.

For today, there are active advisories given out by the National Weather Service (NWS) for a wind chill warning and a winter storm warning.

According to the NWS, a snow accumulation through Friday is expected to be between 6 and 12 inches. Light snow is expected throughout the day Thursday. Moderate to heavy snow is anticipated to develop tonight and persevere through Friday morning.

Driving conditions are difficult and “impossible,” according to the NWS, in unplowed or poorly plowed areas.

The NWS warned of windchill temperatures dipping to as low as -30 with wind gusts of up to 40 mph for tonight. Frostbite can develop in as little as thirty minutes when the wind chill index is under -20.

The windchill warning is in effect from midnight tonight until 11 AM Friday morning, promising the inclement weather to continue into tomorrow.

But for today, Westford Academy students rejoiced in the fact that the first snow day of the year also acted as an extension to winter break.

Fortunately, no power outages have been reported in Westford or the Middlesex County overall yet by National Grid. In Worcester County, 244 outages were reported as of 12:30 PM, with National Grid expecting power to back up by 2:30 PM.

The grade for the Superintendent’s decision today is an unquestionable A+. Making the right call before 9:00 PM showed a level of leadership and action that promises to keep Westford families safe throughout the inclement conditions.

Cumulative Grading Total: B+
December 9: C+
December 18: B
January 2: A+

Wondering what to do with your snow day? Find out here.