When the Rockwood School District experiences inclement weather conditions, safety is the most important consideration when determining whether or not to close facilities for use by community groups.

Rain

Given Rockwood’s large geographic area, sometimes inclement weather can affect one part of the district while not affecting another. Electronic weather stations positioned throughout the district enhance the ability to make accurate decisions about weather conditions as they affect field/facility closings. As a result, we will close fields/facilities by zone as inclement weather warrants. You will hear one of two messages when calling the field/facility status hotline (636-733-1170):

• Due to wet and unsafe field conditions, all fields/facilities are closed; or
• Due to wet and unsafe field conditions, fields/facilities in the following zones are closed…

Snow

Procedures for Weekday Usage (Monday – Friday)

If the district cancels the entire school day or dismisses school early due to inclement weather, all facility usage activities will also be cancelled for that day.

If school is not cancelled or dismissed early but inclement winter weather is forecast for the evening, the Facility Usage office will work with the Grounds Department to make the decision regarding closing the facilities. The decision will be posted on the Facility Usage hotline (636-733-1170) no later than 2:30 p.m. on the weekday in question.

On weekdays when school is not scheduled to be in session, the decision regarding facility usage status will be posted on the Facility Usage hotline (636-733-1170) and will be updated throughout the day beginning at 8 a.m.

Procedures for Weekend Usage (Saturday and Sunday)

When inclement weather is in the forecast for the weekend, the Facility Usage Office works with the district’s Grounds Department to review the list of all scheduled activities for the weekend. While our goal is to be able to provide snow removal for all activities, in some instances the decision may be made in advance to exclude snow removal for facilities where minimal usage is scheduled.

If it is determined that the facility where your activity is scheduled will not be on the snow removal schedule, you will be contacted by the Facility Usage office by noon on Friday to give you notice that your event may be cancelled if the inclement weather materializes.

The facility usage status will be posted on the Facility Usage hotline (636-733-1170) no later than 7 a.m. on weekends.

Turf Fields

• Turf fields will typically not be closed due to inclement weather. However, turf fields may need to be closed due to ice or snow if conditions entering the premises or on the field are deemed to be unsafe. The decision regarding status of turf fields will be posted on the Facility Usage hotline (636-733-1170).
• Lightning policy – Rockwood School District follows MSHSAA’s guidelines as it relates to lightning. Here is a summary of the guidelines:
• Anytime lightning is seen (cloud to ground) or thunder is heard, play should be suspended. Once play has been suspended, wait at least 30 minutes after the last sound of thunder of lightning flash before resuming play.
• The Rockwood Facilities department will be notifying the custodians to make contact with a representative from your team if severe weather is predicted to talk about taking shelter inside the school. Please note that if a gym is needed to be utilized for shelter, we will ask players to remove their cleats to ensure there is no damage to the gym floor.
• Complete MSHSAA Lightning Safety Guidelines