Snow closes school in Washington County

A snowy day in St. George?

That is what students at Diamond Valley Elementary experienced Tuesday when snow made State Road 18 too treacherous for school buses.

Middle school and high school students in the community about 15 miles north of St. George were told to stay home Tuesday.

The rare school closure came during the second day of an unusual winter blast that has hit Washington County, which attracts large numbers of snowbirds each winter to enjoy its normally mild weather and sunny days.

Students in other communities along the highway, including Gunlock and Veyo, were bussed to St. George for classes, but experienced a two-hour delay.

Lyle Cox, human resources director for the Washington County School District, said closures and delays impacted between 350 to 400 of the district's 24,000 students.

Cox said he expects operations of the district's 100 buses to return to normal Wednesday.

He said the last time Washington County schools closed because of bad weather was about nine years ago during a freezing-rain storm.

"There are some kids out there building snowmen today," Cox said. "They're thinking Santa came early."


Source: sltrib.com