On March 9th, Maple Valley received its first snowfall after a year of no snow. Since February of 2025, no snow had fallen; however, the recent March snowfall proves that winter weather can occur even as spring approaches. The first wave of snow lasted for roughly 20 minutes before turning into hail. However, two days after this, there was a full day’s worth of snow, causing roads to become slippery. This ultimately led to the school not opening for the day, giving everyone an unexpected day off.

One cause of the snowfall could be the lowered temperatures in early spring. The lack of snow in the winter could imply that this spring is colder than winter, but that would be a misunderstanding, as there is an abundance of rain that is making the winds colder. Despite the cold winter temperatures, there was no snow to be seen in the area this winter, other than frosted roads. However, spring had an average temperature of about 40 with strong winds and heavy rain, yet there was snow and hail recently.

When asking around about what others think of the snow and the unexpected snow day, some had expressed concern that it could affect later inclement weather days that the school had scheduled. Leon Perry, a sophomore at THS, said that “ I don’t want to have more snow come in if it’s going to affect the schedule again”. If there were more snow days that interrupt school, then it may lead to the school year being drawn out. This could cause the school year to cut into summer vacation, which is an undesirable outcome. Another THS student by the name of Hiram Lanato, also a sophomore, stated, “I would not want something to happen since it would cut into my break”.  These statements explain how snow days can disrupt the schedule and cause problems later on, causing many students to not like them.

During surprise snow days, students can use the unexpected time off to finish homework, spend time with family or friends at home, and make sure to drive carefully as the roads can get iced over.