Ice storm impacts: Wake schools’ decision for another remote day creates struggles for some families

The Wake County Public School System will operate on a two-hour delay Thursday due to the continued threat of black ice.

It comes after the district’s decision on Tuesday evening that schools would be in remote learning for another day due to lingering ice from a weekend winter storm.

The decision to keep students home on Wednesday, Jan. 28, was sent to families after 7 p.m., when many parents and students were already preparing to return to school the next day.

Since Monday was a teacher workday for traditional calendar families and Tuesday shifted to remote learning due to the ice, Wake County students haven’t been in school yet this week.

Tuesday evening’s announcement cited the “continued threat” of ice as the cause. Durham County also opted to go remote on Wednesday, while other school districts, including Johnston County, were back to in-person learning.

On Thursday, Durham Public Schools will also operate on a two-hour delay.

Some working parents told WRAL News it was inconvenient that they didn’t learn until roughly 7:40 p.m. Tuesday that they had to make childcare arrangements another day. 

Sunshine helped the ice melt on Monday and Tuesday, leaving most interstates, highways and major roads clear in the Triangle. However, bitterly cold temperatures caused some ice to linger in parking lots, side streets and neighborhoods, and the slick roads in the northern part of the county on Wednesday may be to blame for keeping kids at home a third day.

A parent with school-age children sent WRAL News this photo of the street in her Wake Forest neighborhood on Wednesday morning. It was still a sheet of ice.

Ice in a Wake Forest neighborhood as of Jan. 28, 2026

WRAL News reached out to Wake County Public School System, asking:

• Why the school system announced the decision after 7 p.m.?
• What factors may have taken extra time in getting that information to parents?

District spokesperson Lisa Luten explained that the district follows briefings from the National Weather Service throughout the day. The last briefing is typically around 4 p.m. Additionally, she said the district evaluates conditions at each campus and across the district.

She said the goal is to notify parents before 9 p.m. the night before.

A message on the district’s website explains:

“Safety always comes first. When weather may affect school operations, our team reviews updates from local emergency officials and the North Carolina Department of Transportation. We also send staff across the county to assess roads, sidewalks, parking lots, and bus routes. Whenever possible, we make a decision the evening before to help families plan ahead. If the forecast remains uncertain, we wait for updated information early the next morning and aim to decide by 4:30 a.m.”

In an email, Luten said in part:

“While many primary roads may appear clear, road conditions are assessed beyond major thoroughfares. Our school buses travel extensively on neighborhood streets, many of which receive limited sunlight due to trees and dense foliage. As a result, these roads often remain icy well after main roads appear safe, creating hazardous conditions for buses, parents, and young student drivers.”

She also wrote that many students and employees work at schools outside their immediate neighborhoods.

“We recognize that full-day closures can be difficult for families, and these decisions are never made lightly. The priority is always the safety of students, staff and families.”

The district also said it considers delayed openings in its decision-making process.

WRAL News has reported on how school districts make a decision to close for weather and how they decide to cancel. Wake County has yet to announce a decision about classes on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Wake County parent Kerri Difilipo spoke to WRAL News about the challenges that she and her husband face to find child care since they both work on a full-time basis.

“We had to scramble to figure out who is going to watch the kids,” Difilipo said. “Can we get them into camps at this late time?”

Difilipo said she, her husband and other moms she knows split up the day.

“It’s pretty stressful,” she said.

Difilipo added, “All my friends, my other moms, are all working too. We’re all texting each other like, ‘Can you watch them for a little while in between your meetings and in between my meetings?'”

Difilipo said it is financially difficult to take off work at the last minute.

“We have to have that plan ahead of time,” Difilipo said.