The Warrensburg R-VI School District will start the school year with early dismissals due to forecasted extreme heat.
Wednesday, Aug. 23 will mark Warrensburg students' first day of the 2023-24 school year. According to a Facebook post, the district will have early dismissals on Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 24.
Warrensburg High School and Middle School will dismiss at 12:35 p.m. Martin Warren and Sterling will dismiss at 1:30 p.m. Maple Grove and Ridge View will dismiss at 1:40 p.m.
“While we know this is not ideal, we are concerned for our students as well as our bus drivers,” the post states. “This is especially true for our bus drivers and monitors who will be on the bus for double routes.”
The district asked families to “allow for some grace as our buses work out pick-up and drop-off times over the first couple of weeks.” Students are advised to arrive at their bus stop five minutes early and parents should allow extra time after pick-up as students are enrolling and being added to the bus routes daily.
“We greatly appreciate your patience with this situation and the late notification,” the district stated in the post. “We have tried to work through some of these challenges, and with the reality of heat hitting us today, we have made this decision to work to keep everyone as safe as possible.”
Johnson County remains under an excessive heat warning until 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25. According to the National Weather Service, dangerously hot conditions with heat index values of 105 to 120 are expected for portions of east central and northeast Kansas and central, north central, northwest and west central Missouri.
The NWS states, “Extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat-related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities. Overnight lows around 75 to 81 degrees each night will minimize recovery, which could compound into heat-related illnesses.”
On Wednesday, Warrensburg will see patchy fog before 8 a.m. Otherwise, the forecast is mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 99 and a low around 78. The heat index value could be as high as 111. On Thursday and Friday, it will be mostly sunny and hot again, with a high near 100 and a low in the 70s. Thursday is also expected to be windy, with gusts as high as 18 mph.
This weekend, temperatures should cool off a little, with a high near 89 and a low around 65 on Saturday. The temperature will drop even further on Sunday, with a high near 79 and a low around 61.
On Monday, the high is forecasted to be near 81, along with sunny skies. Monday night’s low should be around 58.
