Forest Ridge D142, Arbor D145 Close Schools Friday, Move To E-Learning Ahead Of Expected Extreme Cold

OAK FOREST, IL — Forest Ridge District 142 students will stay home and attend school via e-learning ahead of anticipated extreme cold Friday, Jan. 23, the district has announced via the Emergency Closing Center.

Arbor Park District 145 also has moved to e-learning, the district office said. Bremen District 228 made the call to close schools Wednesday afternoon. All schools will be closed Friday.

Students at Oak Forest, Tinley Park, Bremen and Hillcrest high schools will not attend school in person, the district said yesterday. All staff other than custodians will also be working remotely, the district said. After school activities will continue as planned, and coaches/sponsors will be in touch for program specific information. e-Learning guidelines are accessible online.

An extreme cold watch has been issued for late Thursday through Friday morning, as wind chills as low as 40 below zero are expected for the Chicago area, according to the National Weather Service.

Wind chills that low can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes, the weather service said. You should dress in several layers, including a hat, face mask and gloves if you must go outside, NWS advised.

The dangerous cold begins Thursday night into Friday morning, and bitter cold will continue through the weekend, according to the weather service.

The weather service said there is high confidence in a period of bitter cold from Thursday night to Saturday morning, but there remains uncertainty on how extreme the cold and wind chills will be.

The weather service is forecasting a high of minus 2 on Thursday night, with wind chills as low as 35 below zero, and a high of minus 5 degrees on Friday with wind chills as low as 25 below zero.