With subzero temperatures and windchills that could be as low as 30 to 40 below zero in the forecast, multiple school districts in DeKalb County have announced alternative plans for Friday.

Exposed skin could become frostbitten within 10 minutes, according to the National Weather Service.

The NWS plans to issue an extreme cold warning for sixteen Illinois counties at 3 a.m. on Friday, which is expected to last until noon. A cold weather advisory will then remain in effect from noon on Friday until 9 a.m. on Saturday.

School closures/e-learning

• DeKalb School District 428: DeKalb schools will hold classes through an e-learning format, which was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Hinckley-Big Rock School District 429 announced at a similar time on Thursday that the district will participate in an e-learning day on Friday.
• Sycamore School District 427 told parents, students and staff that it will be closed on Friday “due to dangerously cold temperatures’ in an email around 1 p.m.
• Hiawatha School District 426 announced it would be closing schools on Friday and canceling evening activities, due to forecasted inclement weather at 12:41 p.m.

What else will be closed on Friday?

The Voluntary Action Committee, which is responsible for the Meals on Wheels program in Bureau, DeKalb, LaSalle and Putnam counties, will also be impacted by the cold weather on Friday.

Cami Loving, with the VAC, wrote in an email Thursday morning that the organization will close its senior lunch program on Friday due to the forecasted cold temperatures.

The Meals on Wheels program in all four counties will also not operate on Friday. Loving wrote that the decision was made in order to protect the health and safety of participants and volunteers.

The DeKalb County Courthouse and county offices will also be closed on Friday due to the weather, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.