LEWISTON — After dumping about three feet of fresh snow throughout much of Central Maine over the past week, Mother Nature has as much as another foot of powder in store for Monday.

While school kids are chomping at the bit for a fourth snow day in a week, administrators are keeping a weather eye out and discussing options.

“This is Maine, and the weather is what it is,” Lewiston Superintendent Bill Webster said. “We may be making up for the snow we didn’t get in past years.”

Webster said, “We are increasing talking about summer learning loss in students who don’t go to summer school — we now need to start talking about snow day learning loss.”

According to Webster, “One parent has already suggested that we cancel February break!”

He assured both parents and students this is not an option.

“At least the forecast for the blizzard was significant enough and started early enough so that we could call off school the day before,” said Webster, who was quick to add that is the first time he’s made that call in his 8½ years as superintendent.

Webster said the call is all the more difficult to make when smaller, ill-timed storms are forecast.

“It is hard to call off school when the snow has not yet begun to fall,” Webster said. “Lewiston has no late start or early release policy; my decision is all or nothing.”

That call became one of “all” as Webster Tweeted after 9 p.m. that Lewiston schools would be closed followed by “no more, OK?”

Auburn Superintendent Katy Grondin shared Webster’s sentiments.

“It is frustrating to have a weather pattern that is interfering with student learning,” Grondin said. “If tomorrow is a snow day, which appears to be highly likely, it would be our sixth! Moments after the Lewiston tweet, Auburn announced it too would be closed. 

“We have not had six snow days in quite some time,” she said. “Of course, the concern is that we are just entering the month of February and we always seem to have a snow day in March too. Hopefully after tomorrow we can make it to February vacation without another snow day.”

Winter Storm Watches turned quickly into warnings Sunday as meteorologists tracked the storm further north and inland.

Androscoggin County was split in the forecast with Lewiston southward, as well as coastal areas, expecting up to a foot of fresh snow while the rest of the county, along with Oxford and Franklin counties, receiving 4 to 8 inches.

The City of Auburn implemented a parking ban from 8 a.m. Monday until 8 a.m. Tuesday. The downtown parking district is exempt from the ban until 11 a.m. Monday.

Auburn Police Department Deputy Chief Jason Moen urged drivers to use caution and plan extra time for their commutes Monday.

dmcintire@sunjoural.com