Weather conditions can have a major effect on programs at Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing. These conditions can become especially dangerous from late Fall through early Spring and can force us to cancel classes as a result. At times, we may also run into other conditions or situations that may make it unreasonable or even dangerous to host classes such as during power outages or smoke events.
We have several ways of determining whether classes will be cancelled, and several ways of communicating those decisions to our participants.
First, we should make it clear that if you feel your safety or the safety of your child would be compromised by attending classes at Mount Baker, you should not attempt to come regardless of whether classes are held or not. Weather conditions can vary throughout the region, and while they may be fine in south Seattle, some participants coming from outlying areas may not be able to travel safely.
How we make decisions regarding weather:
- Seattle Public Schools: It is Seattle Parks policy that if Seattle Schools are closed for the day, our programs will be cancelled for the day as well. Late starts will not necessarily affect programs, but we will review those situations carefully.
- Current Conditions: If snowy or icy conditions arrive during the day, we may make the decision to cancel programs regardless of whether Seattle Schools have made a decision.
- Weather Forecast: We use a variety of weather resources to determine what is most likely to occur in our area. If there is reasonable confidence that dangerous conditions will be coming, we will make a decision to cancel programs for the rest of the day or the next day.
- Staff: Even if conditions at Mount Baker are reasonable, our assigned staff may still not be able to come in. They will make every effort to notify us as early as possible so we can either find alternate staff or cancel affected classes.
How we will communicate cancelled classes:
- Website: We will post a message at the top of our website stating that all or some classes are cancelled due to inclement weather.
- Email or similar: There are a variety of means that we communicate our different groups at Mount Baker (ie ConstantContact and iCrew). We will send out a message stating the cancellation through the appropriate avenues as early as possible.