At approximately 1:06 pm on Feb. 2, 5 Eyewitness News Network released a Winter Storm Warning on a possible winter blizzard. The target areas included Anoka, Nicollet, Ramsey, and HHS’ own Hennepin county.

The storm warning consisted of five to ten inches of snowfall with 25 to 30 miles per hour winds and up to 45 miles per hour gusts. The heaviest snowfall will fall between 6 pm to 12 am on Wednesday morning. All evening commutes are expected to be delayed due to driving conditions on the roads and highways.

As of now, all after-school activities in the Hopkins School District, with the exception of optional varsity basketball and gymnastics practices, have been cancelled. Activity buses will not be running after school for the secondary schools, but the Preschools and Elementary schools are continuing the Stepping Stones and Kids and Company after-school programs. The band concert, Drugs & Teens panel, and varsity hockey game have all been cancelled.

Mr. Joe Perkl, Assistant Activities Director, explained that the decision to cancel after-school activities is overseen by the Lake Conference’s Activity Directors.  

“[The Lake Conference Activity Directors] try and get together to create a uniform decision,” Perkl said. “We don’t want to say that all activities are done, and all the other schools cancel and then we look bad and they look bad. But what it comes down to is the Superintendent’s decision and the Principal, and we felt the safest thing to do was to cancel activities after-school with as much snow as we’re getting.”

In addition to school schedules, metro transportations have also been heavily affected by the potential blizzard.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has advised against travel in southern Minnesota counties. In fact, according to 5 Eyewitness News Network, the I-90 and all state highways south of Highway 14 and west of Interstate 35 will close at approximately 2 pm.

On Feb. 2, HHS and several other high schools, including Wayzata, released students early to ensure safe driving in light of the weather conditions. Wayzata High School is unsure of whether the school district will close on Wednesday, a decision heavily influenced by the Superintendent.

“[Superintendent Dr. Chace B. Anderson] gets up early in the morning and drives around Plymouth and Wayzata to inspect the road conditions,” said Ms. Carrie Wanous, Wayzata Communications Specialist. “If it does get too dangerous, [Dr. Anderson] will contact the Lake Conference Superintendents about how to move forward with the situation.”

With snow still expected to fall overnight, HHS could potentially schedule a last-minute late start. If school were to be cancelled, however, it would be the first school cancellation due to weather concerns since Jan. 2014.