(Eric Crump photos and video/H-F Chronicle)
In person classes at Homewood and Flossmoor schools were canceled in favor of e-learning sessions on Friday, Jan. 12, after the area received about 4 inches of snow overnight and early the next morning.
When online classes ended, kids and parents made a beeline for Willow Hill, a favorite sledding spot for many.
The weather didn’t fully cooperate with sledding as snow changed to rain during the morning, but the snow cover was enough to keep the sleds zipping down the hill into the afternoon.
In an interview with the Chronicle, Erin Graves, Emilia Leahy and Audi Bjorklun said they were having fun in spite of the rain.
“I do like sledding on a school day,” Erin said. “We’d be in school right now if it wasn’t for the snow.” Her friends, Emilia and Audi, who had just come down the slope with her, agreed.
After an unusually warm start to winter, ice skating is another winter activity that caught a break this week. The temperature plunged below zero Sunday, Jan. 14. The high was -4.
On Monday, the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District announced the two rinks at Flossmoor Park, just east of Park Place, were open for skating.
on the ice. The park district monitors the conditions of the ice for safety.
The frigid temperatures are expected to continue all week, although highs will reach into the teens starting Wednesday. Next week, highs will reach the upper 30s to low 40s, which could put skating at risk. The park district monitors the ice and only allows skating when the conditions are deemed safe.
All three local school districts, 153, 161 and 233, announced they would go to e-learning on Tuesday, Jan. 16, because of the dangerously cold temperature in the forecast. The high is expected to be 3 degrees above zero.
