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pared now and develop an emergency action plan for your school,” warns Barbara McNaught Watson, one of the nation’s foremost experts on weather contingency planning. Trough the National Weather Service, she has written extensively on the topic of severe weather emergency planning for schools. “Having a clear weather policy lets drivers, parents, teachers and students know what to expect. A clear up-front policy makes it easier to make the hard decisions when the time comes,” she adds.
PLANNING FOR THE BUSES School districts are put in charge of designing a robust communication process to warn drivers, teachers, students
and parents. Once communication is established, there are two primary considerations for holding the buses in bad weather. Tey are both based on timing. Upon departure, districts need to determine how long it takes before all stu- dents arrive safely at home, including time for the students to walk from their bus stop to their home. Secondly, determine how much time there is before the storms impact the district. Severe thunderstorm and tornado
watches are sometimes issued a couple hours in advance of thunderstorm development. Watches are generally issued for large areas. Once storms develop, it may be a couple hours before the storms hit. On the other hand, it may be a rapidly developing situation with mere minutes before the storm’s impact. All school bus drivers should be trained on how to handle severe weather situations. Two primary concerns are flood-
ings and tornadoes. Additional thought might be given to high wind situations (thunderstorms or others), unexpected heavy snow or ice, extreme heat or extreme cold and wind chill. In most situations, these events are forecast in advance, but there are times when it may catch everyone by surprise.
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