Some Sonoma County Schools Closed For Expected Storm

Numerous Bay Area schools are closing Thursday because of a potentially dangerous wind and rainstorm moving into the area -- including some in Sonoma County.

All San Francisco Unified School District schools and some school districts in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and Sonoma counties have canceled school for Thursday.

Several schools in Sonoma County are closed -- NOTE: the following list was last updated at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

School Closures for Thursday, Dec 11

Listed by district

Forestville Union
—Forestville School
—Forestville Academy

Fort Ross
—Fort Ross School

Guerneville
—Guerneville School

Harmony Union (Occidental)
—Harmony Elementary School
—Salmon Creek Charter School

Horicon (Anapolis)
—Horicon School

Montgomery (Cazadero)
—Montgomery Elementary School

Monte Rio Union
—Monte Rio School

Oak Grove Union (West Santa Rosa/Sebastopol)
—Oak Grove Elementary School
—Willowside Middle School

A list of Sonoma County closures is available at www.scoe.org/pub/htdocs/storm-update.html- check for updates.

In Alameda County, public school districts in the cities of Alameda, Berkeley, Oakland and Hayward have announced closures.

The West Contra Costa and New Haven school districts have also announced closures.

Most schools in Marin County are closed. A full list of closures is available at www.marinschools.org/SafeSchools/Pages/EmergencyServices/school-status.aspx

In addition the Novato Unified School District has already announced schools will be closed Friday.

Most school districts anticipate being open on Friday, though San Francisco Unified officials said a final decision will be made before 5 p.m. Thursday.

Oakland district officials said in a statement, “This is not a decision we make lightly, but given the severe weather predictions and the safety implications for students and staff, we want to take every precaution in order to safeguard our community.”

District officials said that what the National Weather Service refers to as a “powerful Pacific storm” with heavy rain and wind gusts “poses a significant safety risk for our students and staff.”

It will be a workday for Oakland schools central office staff but they will work from home, district officials said.

SFUSD Superintendent Richard Carranza said in a statement, “We don’t want to risk having our students injured or seriously delayed transporting to and from school. In addition to student absences, the storm could result in large numbers of staff absences, which could then lead to inadequate supervision of our students.”

Related:

Before Storm Hits, Check Your Homeowners, Renters Policies.

Avoid Storm Repair Scams.

Slippery When Wet! CHP Reminds You How To Drive In Drizzly Weather and What To Do If Hydroplaning.

Cal Fire Warns of Home Heating Dangers as Storm Approaches.

--Bay City News contributed to this report

--Image via Shutterstock