Friday is a snow day for Knox County Schools students.
The district announced the afternoon of Jan. 9 that schools would be closed Friday, All athletics and extracurricular activities will be canceled throughout the weekend.
Knoxville is under a National Weather Service winter storm warning from 10 a.m. Jan. 10 through 7 a.m. Jan. 11. The storm will bring “widespread snow accumulations” with a mixture of sleet and freezing rain possible south of Interstate 40 with “light ice accumulation possible.”
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Knox County Schools Superintendent Jon Rysewyk factors in safety first and foremost when deciding to close schools, he told Knox News, balanced with the need for uninterrupted instruction and giving parents time to plan.
“We prefer to be in school, but we’re not going to risk safety,” he said.
Earlier this school year, Knox County Schools closed for a day in September due to flooding and high winds from Hurricane Helene moving across East Tennessee. The district has eight inclement weather days in a school year.
Areena Arora, data and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at areena.arora@knoxnews.com. Follow her on X @AreenaArora and on Instagram @areena_news.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County Schools closed as storm could bring several inches of snow