COLUMBUS, Ohio – Schools were closed or opened late as central Ohioans awoke to record-setting cold temperatures and off-the-charts wind chills.
The low temperature of -11 degrees, recorded at 5:03 a.m. at Port Columbus, is a new record for the date, shattering the previous low for Feb. 24 of -1 set in 1914, according to the National Weather Service.
CMH (Port Columbus) airport dropped to -11 this morning. This breaks the previous record low of -1 set back in 1914.
— NWS Wilmington OH (@NWSILN) February 24, 2015
Columbus was positively balmy compared with the teeth-chattering -24 degrees recorded at Delaware just before 8:00 a.m., -23 at the Marysville airport, -21 at Newark/Heath or even the -18 at Bolton Field in southwestern Franklin County.
Wind chills were as low as-36 degrees in Marysville, -30 in Delaware and -20 at Bolton Field.
The Columbus City Schools and some suburban district cancelled classes early in the morning while most others delayed the start of the school day by about two hours.
The -7 degree reading at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport was also a record. Records were also set in Akron and Youngstown (-10) and Mansfield (-8).
Snow, frigid temperatures and wind chills reaching 25 degrees below zero this month have spurred numerous school closings across the state, so education officials say districts can have additional time to complete standardized testing.
Depending on the test format, Ohio districts have either 10 or 20 days to complete the tests — known as Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC.
The Ohio Department of Education says districts that cancel school during their testing windows may add up to an additional five testing days.
Communities in northeast Ohio say they’re running short on road salt amid this winter’s snow and cold temperatures.
The region has recorded nearly 60 inches of snow since November, and the colder-than average temperatures have made snow harder to melt and roads more difficult to clear.