MN school districts are canceling classes Tuesday due to dangerously cold temperatures

MINNEAPOLIS — Several school districts across the state, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, are canceling classes Tuesday due to subzero temperatures and wind chills.

The National Weather Service has issued an extreme cold warning for the entire state through midday Tuesday, as wind chills could drop as low as -45°C. As a result, several districts have already canceled school classes or switched to remote learning in anticipation of the “dangerously cold temperatures.”

Many are also canceling school-sponsored programs. A full list of closures and delays can be found here.

“Our goal is to keep families, staff and the community informed about weather-related school closures and cancellations,” the SPPS district said in a news release.

Anoka-Hennepin, the state’s largest school district, also announced it would close Tuesday, saying the decision was made for the “safety of students and staff.”

According to KARE 11 meteorologist Jamie Kagol, this latest explosion in the Arctic is due to a polar vortex in the region.

“We live on this big blue marble called Earth and there is air spinning above and below – a vortex – and that air above and below, at the north and south poles, is very cold,” Kagol explained. “So this is your polar vortex. This is the polar vortex.”