According to school Public Information Officer Rita Foil, Rowan-Salisbury Schools will have a 4-hour early dismissal today (Jan. 8, 2018) due to expected ice. All afternoon and evening activities are cancelled.

School system officials initially planned to dismiss students 3 hours early, but moved up the timeline after receiving updated weather reports, Foil said in a phone message.

Parents and guardians were informed of the dismissal via an automated phone call.

According to the National Weather Service, Rowan County is currently under a winter weather advisory. The advisory began at 9 a.m., and will last until midnight tonight.

There is a 60 percent chance of freezing rain between 1 and 3 p.m. this afternoon, but little to no accumulation is expected.

However, the ice will result in difficult travel conditions possibly during afternoon and evening commutes today. Freezing rain will change over to all rain this afternoon, potentially transitioning back to a rain/freezing rain mix tonight. Roads and sidewalks could become slippery due to recent low temperatures. 

According to Foil, district officials initially announced a 3-hour dismissal, but moved it earlier after receiving updated weather reports.

Some schools, however, didn’t make it through the shortened day. According to Foil, three schools were forced to dismiss students even earlier due to mechanical malfunctions that left buildings without heat. Salisbury High School dismissed at 9 a.m., Millbridge Elementary dismissed at 9:30 a.m. and Henderson Independent High School dismissed at approximately 11:15 a.m.