City schools to close Wednesday for big storm

City and school officials announced this morning that the city's 1,500 public schools will be closed tomorrow because of the expected snow storm.

It's the first snow day for the city's 1.1 million public school kids since March 2, 2009 -- a decision that at the time triggered anger from many families because the call wasn't made until 5:40 a.m. that morning.

School officials said in a statement that they were making the decision well in advance this time "to give parents as much time as possible to make alternative plans for tomorrow."

STORM WARNING FROM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein are expected to provide more details at a 1 p.m. news conference.

Before last year's snow day, it had been more than five years since bad weather forced the city to cancel public school classes.

The forecast calls for snow to roll in after midnight. It could continue all day tomorrow before tapering off, dropping up to 18 inches of snow on the area, AccuWeather.com meteorologist Tom Kines said.

Look for blizzard-like conditions, with snow in the city expected to be heaviest on Staten Island.

"The worst of the storm will be during the day Wednesday into the evening, with the heaviest snow and wind," Kines said.

Tomorrow's high is expected to be 33 degrees, with winds reaching as high as 45 mph during the day. Thanks to the wind, it will feel like it's in the teens during the day.

The Sanitation Department is prepared, said spokesman Keith Mellis.

"We have all our salt spreaders ready to go out for the first line of defense," he said. "We will be fully prepared to send out 1,500 to 1,600 pieces of equipment to plow."