Two years ago, a stretch six consecutive afternoons in the 90s in late August caused many local school districts to cancel school for several days. In Fargo, conditions were deemed “too uncomfortable to learn,” particularly in buildings without air-conditioning.
Moorhead kids were hot, too. But they weren’t in classrooms because their school started after Labor Day (and still does). Since then, the Fargo Public School District has changed their calendar to delay the start of school by a week. True enough, hot weather can happen well into September. It was 101 degrees as late as September 21 in 1936. But this is a time of year in which each day is statistically less likely to be 90 degrees than the day before.
Also, September heat waves tend to be shorter than those at the end of August. Of course, as time goes by, more and more school buildings acquire air-conditioning making hot weather less of a problem for schools. John Wheeler/News Service
