Many students across the Midwest United States have woken up to the scene of a thick sheet of snow blanketing their surroundings. The night before, major snow storms hit and closed many schools, allowing students nationwide to enjoy a snow day, most even getting multiple days off.
Schools have shut down across the Midwest as overnight winter storms have affected many parts of the U.S., including Fort Thomas. The storms hit especially hard in Northern Kentucky, where people saw as many as nine inches of snow. The storms also iced over many roads, making it extremely dangerous for anyone to drive.
Most schools in Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, and even some in Missouri and Iowa, had to shut down for a few days. Many businesses closed down due to dangerous road conditions and non-emergency medical clinics were also down for a day or two.
With 2025 being a La Niña year, which according to the National Weather Service is when the ocean cools in the central and east-central Pacific. This is something we would typically see in the early parts of the year. The storms seen in early January likely won’t be the last of it either, these conditions are expected to persist for another month or two.
“Between the La Niña and the jetstream dipping so low, yes I expect to see more,” chemistry teacher Del Eheman said.
The storms we are expecting to see later in the season will likely not be as strong and it is doubted that we will see another snow day this year. However, we can expect to see a couple more inches of snow leading into late February and early March.
Many students throughout the Fort Thomas Independent School District were seen enjoying their snow days with the most popular snow day activity: sledding. Whenever there is snow in Fort Thomas, there’s sledding. Many students flock to local parks to race down their hills.
Many students were also seen doing other snow day activities like building snowmen, making snow angels or even just staying inside to stay warm and relax on their day off. Students were also allowed to get a nice break by sleeping in late.
The snow struck at what many students would call the perfect time. The storms allowed an extra two days to enjoy winter break. However, all fun does have to come to an end as students returned to classes on January 8. .
The amazing custodial staff at Highlands allowed for the snow to not disrupt learning too much.
“When snow comes, snow comes. They were working their tails off, and the custodial staff was. They were working so hard on that Monday,” Eheman said.