UPDATE: All Cobb County schools will be closed on Monday, December 11 due to power outages and unsafe travel conditions.

Today’s sight of heavy snow on a normal school day feels a bit too familiar to the hundreds of students that once stood stranded in school due to the blizzard of 2013, but Cobb County School District hopes for the best and simply shortens the school day.

“All Cobb County school will release early today, Friday, on the following schedule: 11:30 am – High Schools; 12:30 – Middle Schools; 1:30 – Elementary Schools. After School Programs are closed today. All extracurricular activities cancelled friday & Saturday,” @CobbSchools, the official Twitter for CCSD, tweeted today at 9:49 am.

The Kennesaw/Acworth suburbs woke up to icy windshields and snowy lawns. As The Weather Channel and many other forecast facilities predicted, a downfall of snow commenced in the early morning. Test takers peek out of the window to see a plethora of snowflakes covering the courtyard, and as the day goes on, students and parents nervously think about teenagers and school busses on the slippery pavement.

To nobody’s surprise, The Weather Channel App sends out an official “Winter Storm Warning from 5:00 am Friday EST to 7:00 am Saturday EST,” which discouraged any young students from driving on the slick roads.

The crisis brought about by the blizzard of 2013 resembles today’s routine: CCSD refuses to initially cancel school but eventually succumbs to the pressures of the forecast and shortens the day.

“Even though CCSD shortened class, they should’ve initially terminated class for the whole day. Everyone remembers how many students got stranded a few years ago when the county tried to have class on a a heavy snow day. My parents and I are really nervous about me driving on these icy roads,” junior Jared Nolen said.

After NC Principal Bucky Horton announced the 11:30 am dismissal time, the students let out a sigh of relief and chants of excitement. Horton followed up this announcement into second period by advising anyone who drove or were considered “walkers” to exit the school and leave immediately. Students rushed home, while others remained in school until 11:25 when the bell released them to the busses.