MCLEAN, Va. — It's been a tough week for schools with the frigid cold and snowy conditions.
There were mixed decisions across school districts with deciding to delay or close at the last minute. How do they decide?
What are the roads like? That's the first question school officials consider when figuring out whether to close, open late or leave early.
The condition of sidewalks and walkways are also considered. The temperature, which was a big concern this week with the polar vortex, is another contributing factor.
Temperatures were in the single digits this week. However, Friday was little warmer than Thursday.
In Virginia, Prince William County settled on a two-hour delay. Loudoun County schools were closed.
In Maryland, both Montgomery and Prince George's County went in on time but had an early dismissal.
Lots of parents gave a thumbs down to that call, including WUSA9 Meteorologist Howard Bernstein.
"I don't have a problem with going in on time. It was a little cold, but so what. But the early dismissal, I wonder if that's the bad call because we always expected the worst of it to be 6 a.m. to noon," said Bernstein.
Fairfax County had planned for a two hour delay but the snow changed everything.
A facility crew member said that they called the national Weather Service who told them that the snow could over-perform. So combine that with a ground temperature of only 18 degrees, the school district decided to close.
At 1 p.m., it was still coming down on snow covered roads.
"Originally I thought it was kind of craziness but it's good that they made the right decision," said Gina Yockey.
Yockey is a dedicated teacher at Lemon Road Elementary in McLean, Va. She had the day off, but came in anyway.
"We had the geography bee final yesterday, and the student needed to take the test before the deadline, and so I came in and we took the test together and I'm out. I got a little bit of planning done, feels good," Yockey said.
Next week, Fairfax County students won't get a full week of instruction because Monday is a student holiday.