PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Schools across central and northern Aroostook County are already canceled for Friday due to snowstorms that began Thursday and are expected to become far more severe.
All Valley Unified schools in the administrative units of SAD 27, SAD 33 and the Madawaska School Department will be closed Friday. In addition, all Valley Unified after-school activities have been canceled for Thursday.
Valley Unified officials advise all those who must travel within the next 30 hours to do so with extreme caution.
SAD 1, SAD 20, SAD 42, SAD 45 and Easton Schools all said they would be closed on Friday due to the weather. Officials at Ashland-based SAD 32 have not yet decided whether they will close.
Students from Presque Isle, Mapleton, Chapman, Castle Hill, Westfield, Fort Fairfield, Mars Hill, Washburn, Wade and Perham are among those who will not have class on Friday.
More than 20 inches of snow are expected to hit towns from Mars Hill north to the St. John Valley on Friday. The Houlton area is expected to see about 16 inches from the storm, according to the National Weather Service.
RSU 29 Superintendent Ellen Halliday said she was waiting until Friday morning to decide if Houlton schools would be in session.
The storm will intensify early Friday morning and continue until Saturday morning.
Staff writers Jessica Potila and Joseph Cyr contributed to this report.
