Dayton orders schools closed

Governor Dayton has ordered all the state’s public K-12 schools closed Monday due to the expected bitterly cold weather.

“ The safety of Minnesota’s schoolchildren must be our first priority,” said Governor Dayton. “I have made this decision to protect all our children from the dangerously cold temperatures now forecasted for next Monday. I encourage Minnesotans of all ages to exercise caution in these extreme weather conditions.”

The decision to close schools across the state was announced today in order to give school administrators, teachers, and parents sufficient time to plan for these closures. The Minnesota Department of Education will be coordinating with school districts throughout the day to notify the public about Monday’s school closings.

Here’s his entire release.

Former Governor Arne Carlson made the same decision three times because of bad weather. One of the decisions was made in February 1996.  Forecasters say it’s possible some parts of Minnesota may experience temperatures close to the records that were set during those two brutally

cold days ( Feb. 2 & 3, 1996 ). Minnesota’s alltime cold temperature of -60 was recorded February 2, 1996 in Tower. Rochester set a record that day with a low of 35 below, which was also the coldest reading ever for the month of February. The high temperature that day was -20.