No school Friday in Worcester; city warming center to open

Jeff A. Chamer, Telegram & Gazette
·1 min read

WORCESTER — With the city preparing for dangerously low temperatures and wind chill as this weekend's artic blast arrives in the region, Worcester Public Schools leaders announced there will be no school Friday, as well as the cancellation of all before and after school programs in the city.

The temperatures are expected to break the all-time record for lowest temperature Feb. 4, when arctic air rolls in Friday.

The forecast calls for minus 8 degrees Saturday morning, four degrees colder than the current record for Feb. 4 of minus 4, set 89 years ago in 1934.

More:School closings

Regional wind chill map
Regional wind chill map

With the wind chill factored in, Saturday could drop to a frigid minus 30 degrees.

This is the second time the district has closed schools this winter. In January, heavy snowfall and poor road conditions led to a school closure, as well as a 2-hour delay shortly after.

The city announced it was opening a warming center at the Worcester Senior Center, at 128 Providence St., from 8 a.m. Friday until 6 p.m. Saturday.

Dalina Boryszewski of Worcester braves the frigid wind chill at Quinsigamond State Park in Worcester to walk her malamute-mix Odin, 3.
Dalina Boryszewski of Worcester braves the frigid wind chill at Quinsigamond State Park in Worcester to walk her malamute-mix Odin, 3.

The frigid conditions this weekend could cause disruptions to flights at Worcester Regional Airport and Logan Airport in Boston, the state Department of Transportation (MassDOT) said Thursday.

"Massport is urging passengers to check with their airlines on the status of their flight before coming to the airports," MassDOT said in a news release.

Temperatures are expected to fall rapidly Friday, plunging into the single digits by late afternoon and all the way to nine below zero overnight Friday into Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

That would be the coldest temperature in Worcester since Feb. 14, 2016, when the low dropped to 16 below zero.

Schools in Framingham and Boston will also be closed Friday.

WORCESTER - Up high in the cold in a bucket truck, Levi Wilkman of A Arsenault & Sons Landscaping of Spencer removes Christmas lights from the outside of the Bay State Savings Bank building on Franklin Street.
WORCESTER - Up high in the cold in a bucket truck, Levi Wilkman of A Arsenault & Sons Landscaping of Spencer removes Christmas lights from the outside of the Bay State Savings Bank building on Franklin Street.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Public Schools leaders announced there will be no school Friday due to arriving arctic blast