CLOSINGS: Power outages force CMS to close; local school districts delayed

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After Tropical Storm Michael left some destruction across the area, several school districts canceled Friday classes or called for a two-hour delay.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools canceled classes, while Cabarrus County, Lincoln County, Chesterfield County, Statesville-Iredell, Stanly County, Ashe County, and Union County schools will be on a 2-hour delay.

Anson County will be on a 3-hour delay. Kannapolis Schools and Rowan-salisbury Schools also canceled Friday classes.

[CLICK for a running list of delays & closings because of Michael]

CMS officials said 32 schools were without power Thursday, and that by Friday morning, 19 remained in the dark.

"Our community has been hit hard by high winds, heavy rain, downed trees and power lines from Hurricane Michael,” CMS officials said in a release. “According to Duke Energy officials, 32 schools in neighborhoods across the district and nearly 82,000 residents across our community are without lights, refrigeration, heating and cooling due to power loss.”

CMS also postponed all of Friday night's high school football games. The district announced that home games will move to Monday, or to the open date in November that the schools agreed on.

Any out of county games will be rescheduled for Saturday, Monday, or another date.

[PHOTOS: Damage and flooding from Tropical Storm Michael]

Several roads were flooded, and some were completely washed out.

Tens of thousands of people lost power during the storm.

The "Follow the Lead" news app feature allows users to opt-in to follow future coverage of specific news events that they’re interested in.

This new feature allows you to receive push notifications whenever there are new developments in ongoing stories, breaking news, and stories that are of interest to you. 

Stories that are followable have tappable tags associated with them, including Hurricanes. To follow the latest on Michael, click the blue tag indicated with a "+" followed by the name.

CMS, other school districts announce closures ahead of Michael

(Oct. 11)

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools announced it will be closed Thursday for all students and staff after speaking with law enforcement and weather experts.

Multiple other school districts in the area announced closures for Thursday.

"I feel like it's jumping the gun,” parent Kelly Posey said. “If they could let my work know, that would be good. Some people don't have the luxury of calling out of work and I would lose my work if I didn’t just show up tomorrow."

Michael has already caused catastrophic damage in the Panhandle of Florida.

Channel 9 meteorologists have warned viewers about dangerously high winds, flash flooding and unsafe travel conditions Michael may bring.

School buses are not supposed to be on the road with winds over 30 mph.

Some parents are praising CMS for their decision.

"That's a good call because it's right before it hits,” parent Ronald Applewhite said.

Other parents wish CMS would have made the decision sooner.

"Yeah, that's short notice,” Posey said. “I didn't realize it was supposed to be that bad here."

Several other districts have said they are closely monitoring the weather and talking to emergency management.

Cox Media Group