Citing frigid temperatures, Centre County school districts call for a two-hour delay
Two Centre County school districts have announced delays for Wednesday morning in response to frigid temperatures.
The State College Area School District said it would implement a two-hour delay Wednesday, when temperatures will range from roughly 1 degree Fahrenheit at 7 a.m. to about 13 degrees by early afternoon, according to AccuWeather. The agency’s “real feel” index predicts temperatures will feel below zero in the morning while students are traveling to school.
Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District also announced a two-hour delay.
“Please dress warmly and stay safe,” the school district wrote in a social media post.
As of 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, no other Centre County school districts have announced any changes to Wednesday’s school day.
State College’s district said it may consider delaying the school day by one, two or three hours or even canceling classes entirely if the actual temperature drops below 5 degrees or if the wind chill — how the air temperature feels to human skin — reaches minus 20 degrees.
The Bellefonte Area School District follows a similar policy when evaluating delays in response to frigid temperatures, while the Bald Eagle Area School District previously said it would follow the same guidelines as Bellefonte and State College’s districts.
The Penns Valley Area School District and Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District do not appear to have publicly available information posted online regarding district polices for extreme temperatures.
State College’s two-hour delay comes after all five Centre County school districts implemented two-hour delays Tuesday to allow for safe travel to school.
The weekend’s snowstorm, which dumped more than a foot of snow across much of Centre County, closed schools in State College and Philipsburg on Monday, while Penns Valley’s district pivoted to a flexible instruction day. The Bald Eagle and Bellefonte districts already had pre-planned days off for students on Monday.
Additional delays could be in store for Centre County schools this week, when high temperatures in State College will not top 14 degrees through Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Wind chill values on Wednesday and Thursday could reach minus 10 degrees, the agency predicts.
This story was originally published January 27, 2026 at 7:08 PM.
%202.JPG)