Growing up in Indiana we rarely had school canceled for snow, but I do recall at least once where it was canceled for cold, because they didn't want kids waiting for the bus in below zero temperatures. ...I also recall many times in high school when I would wait for the bus with wet hair, and it would freeze. Stupid early start times. Like it wasn't enough to be a sullen teenager, you also have to make me wait for a bus at 6:30AM??

The only weather related school closings I had were for flooding. I think my brother's junior high closed when the power went out and it was hot because they had air conditioning but the windows didn't open.

In 1977, Cincinnati had almost 30 days that were below zero, and the Ohio River froze solid enough that people could walk on it. (I think someone drove a car onto it, though I don't know how far, or what the outcome was.) We lived in a fairly rural area, and I was off school for at least 2 weeks, if not longer, because of the temperatures. Too many kids walked to school, and that shit isn't safe.

Man, I sound like an old coot.

t edit Check that out: [link] That's the Ohio River, looking south into Covington, Kentucky. WHAT THE HELL. That's fucking cold, man.

As others have said, the main reason the schools are closed is that most kids don't have the clothing to dress for walking to a bus stop and waiting in 8-degree temperatures. While many could theoretically be warm enough with layers, except for their feet, neither they nor their parents have any experience with this kind of cold. We're also a land of carports, not garages, so many cars aren't starting.

On the other hand, people don't die in heat waves here.

I remember stories of the ice floes breaking up in the big rivers in the spring and the ice blocking the rivers and causing floods. National Guard units went out to blow the ice dams up. Good times Back In The Day.

I do worry about kids without good coats not having enough food at home, either, and they are missing out on school breakfast and lunch.

Yeah, that's a problem.

Come to think of it, we might have had a school closure for cold. I know I was home the day after an ice storm (the only one of my childhood) but I don't know whether school was closed or it was a weekend or holiday anyway.

Not only are they missing out on school breakfast and lunch, but they may well be home alone. And we've already had at least two space-heater-related fires just in the Atlanta area.

A day or two without enough to eat is awful, but the space heaters are terrifying.

someone could make a ton of dough opening their home to emergency day care. In TX and NY, I know you do not need a license for less than like 5 kids.