Triangle area schools will release early on Tuesday because of severe weather

Some school districts in the path of a winter storm on its way to North Carolina have begun adjusting their schedules for Tuesday to reduce the risk of having students and buses on the road in bad weather.

▪ Wake County Schools announced Monday that classes will release three hours early on Tuesday. All after-school and athletic events are also canceled. No make-up days are needed.

▪ Durham County Public Schools announced that classes will dismiss Tuesday on the following schedule: elementary schools at 10:45 a.m., middle and secondary schools at 11:50 a.m. and high schools at 12:45 p.m. All after-school programs, including athletics, are canceled.

▪ Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools will have a three-hour early dismissal Tuesday on the following schedule: elementary schools at 11:35 a.m., middle schools at 12:20 p.m. and high schools at 1 p.m. Field trips and afterschool activities and athletics are postponed or canceled. After-school care is canceled.

▪ Orange County Schools will have a three-hour early dismissal Tuesday on the following schedule: elementary schools at 11:30 a.m., middle schools at 12:25 p.m. and high schools at 1 p.m.

▪ Johnston County Schools will also release three hours early for all students, staff and visitors on Tuesday. All after school extra curricular activities will be canceled.

▪ Chatham County Schools will dismiss at noon on Tuesday for all students and staff. All after school activities are canceled as well.

▪ Cumberland County Schools switched Monday evening from a two-hour early release to a day of asynchronous remote learning, which means an independent remote learning day with no live instruction.

▪ Lee County Schools will shift to remote learning on Tuesday and all after-school activities for the day are postponed.

▪ Harnett County Schools will operate on an asynchronous remote learning schedule on Tuesday, the system said on X. Extracurricular activities for Tuesday are canceled.

▪ All Wake Tech Community College campuses will close at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

▪ Durham Technical Community College campuses will close at noon. Afternoon and evening classes that can move to remote learning will hold sessions online.

The National Weather Service has issued flood watches and wind advisories for much of central and Eastern North Carolina as the storm system traverses the state Tuesday. Rainfall amounts of 1.5 inches to more than 3 inches are possible, forecasters say. Sustained winds of 15 to 25 mph are likely with gusts up to 45 mph expected.

In addition, an area from the Sandhills to the coast is at a slight risk for tornadoes, especially from Tuesday afternoon to Tuesday night, forecasters said.