LINDALE, Texas — The possibility of severe weather overnight has school districts across East Texas on alert.
Lindale ISD administrators will monitor all watches and warnings from the National Weather Service and local news outlets in the early hours of Wednesday. The district will make decisions about delaying buses on their morning routes until the severe weather has moved through the area.
"Severe weather moving in the early morning is always closely monitored because we have some rural areas that our buses have to cross. So, we want to make sure those areas aren’t flooded," said Lindale ISD spokesperson Courtney Sanguinetti.
According to Sanguinetti, planning ahead is what keeps everyone safe.
"We train for this all the time in our schools, so I feel like our students and our staff are prepared if we were to have bad weather," Sanguinetti said.
In the event that there is a tornado warning during school hours, the district said it will take steps like other school districts to secure the safety of students and staff. They would take cover in the lowest part of the building as third grader Jackson Costner explained.
"We got to get on our knees and put our heads down against the wall," Jackson Costner said.
He is enjoying the good weather while he can. His mom Leslie Costner is one of many parents who will be taking Jackson and his sister Lilly to school in the morning.
"If it’s severe we’re not going to leave and head to the school at that time," Costner said.
Routes that have low lying and potential high water hazards are checked thoroughly prior to buses passing through. Breakfast will be extended to serve late arriving students.
"If we do have to delay buses, we could delay opening and we start monitoring around 4:30 or 5 in the morning," Sanguinetti said.
Other school districts in our area, like Tyler ISD, Chapel Hill ISD and Kilgore ISD will begin to monitor road conditions as early as 4 a.m. They will make decisions before the morning commute. Until then, Costner offers this piece of advice.
"Make sure your surroundings are safe before you leave and if it isn’t then just wait until it passes," Costner said.
You can monitor any changes in school start times and severe weather updates with our live blog by clicking HERE.