MONDAY UPDATE: Orange County Schools will be on a two-hour delay on Tuesday, returning to class after cancelling school on Monday because of hazardous conditions.

The district made the announcement on social media and its website on Monday evening, saying the secondary roads in northern Orange County have “greatly improved” from their icy status and that campuses are ready to welcome back students.

“We are still being cautious, and we want our students, staff, and families to have this extra time to travel safely to our schools and facilities in the daylight Tuesday morning,” said a Facebook post from Orange County Schools. “Our teams will continue to monitor road conditions in the morning to ensure safe travel for everyone.”

Below is the story published on Sunday, Jan. 12 about prior delays and Orange County Schools’ closure.

Students in the Orange County Schools district will have no classes on Monday, Jan. 13 as a result of icy road conditions — while Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Chatham County Schools will each operate on a two-hour delay.

As central North Carolina continues to thaw out after a winter storm dropped snow and sleet onto the region over the weekend, the three school districts announced that persisting hazards for drivers led to their respective decisions. Orange County Schools specifically cited secondary roads being a problem for communities in the northern part of the county as a chief factor in its cancellation of classes.

Monday will be an optional staff workday, according to the OCS alert to families, which also encouraged checking the district’s website throughout the day for further updates on Tuesday’s operations.

Similarly, CHCCS told its staff that administrators understand many people have longer commutes to their schools’ campus and their roads may not be easy to navigate because of road conditions. The district said — even with the delayed start — those who feel unsafe traveling on Monday should discuss options with their principal or supervisor. In addition to the two hours providing more time for sunshine and temperatures to help soften icy patches, CHCCS added that it will give its grounds crews more time to salt, sand or treat its campuses’ surfaces for students and educators.

All three school districts released students and staff early on Friday ahead of the winter storm’s arrival to the Triangle region. The storm dropped roughly 1 inch of snow, followed by a wintery mix, on Friday — and low temperatures on Saturday and Sunday caused many spots to freeze and for the ice to linger.

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